Romancing the Kazekage
by valentine999
Summary: The new Kazekage meets a girl who understands entirely what it feels like to not be able to love, or be loved, for she is a woman who trades in false affection. She was the first courtesan to the Kazekage; she was Gaara's first love. Contains Lemons. GaaraxOC.
1. The Moon Sat on a Balcony

Hello, this is the re-write of _Romancing the Kazekage. (The original has been deleted due to the storyline completely changing- didn't want to confuse anyone!)_

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the type of courtesan I am referring to, please direct your attention to the following Youtube video:

Umrao Jaan (2006) - Salaam (English Subtitles)

Or you can watch any dance from Umrao Jaan (the 2006 version, I suggest) with English subtitles to get a feel of what this story is about.

The courtesans of this story are sophisticated, intelligent women who have been trained in the art of poetry, dance, politics, science and many other pursuits that seem desirable.

This story will contain lemons and other adult themes; after all we are dealing with essentially high class prostitutes.

And in the words of seventeen year old Valentine:

_"Alright? Everyone understand? Then, let's begin."_

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

_**The Moon Sat On a Balcony**_

The loop of the 'g' in the word 'Kazekage' had started off as a sharp, narrow point, mirroring the quick, dedicated manner in which the young Kazekage had begun his work. As though every letter stole precious time, he had zoomed through hours of paperwork in minutes...that was until he realised that upon finishing with his reports he would have nothing better to do than meet his council. In a desperate bid to prevent such interaction from happening, Gaara had taken to making sure every letter was taken care of.

Now, the loop hung limp and fat as the leader of men took his time, idly swirling his pen on the yellowing parchment; begging for the working day to be over. He glanced around his office, ornate and grand, it swallowed him into a world he was unsure of. One moment he was ushered away from public eye and the next, limelight had been thrust upon him. Is it what he wanted? Even he did not know.

He was avoiding meetings with his council, just to be rid of them, stopping servants from bringing him his lunch just so he did not have to endure their stares. Gaara was in a world he was yet to understand; bored and alone, he sat at his desk, deceptively resolute, unknown to be fearful.

The Kazekage's gaze left his office and dropped down to the work in front of him. Was not there something that could tear him away from this place, from his station as a leader? Rubbing his eyes, he relaxed a little as a soft breeze flew in through his window and ruffled his crimson hair.

"Gaara!" The Kazekage looked up, alarmed as his elder brother barged into the office, a large smile on his face, a glass of something in his hand.

"Kankuro," Gaara nodded at his brother and watched, almost with jealousy, at the way his brother grinned and jostled and was happy; what would it be like to feel that way?

"Geez…you've only been Kazekage two days and they've given you this much work?" Kankuro helped himself to the seat opposite Gaara's desk and picked up a bundle of papers, eyes madly skimming the pages.

Deciding he had had enough of the interruption, Gaara put his head down and got back to work. "I'm technically not Kazakage until the festival." He murmured without looking up.

Throwing the papers back down on the desk, Kankuro marched over to the window and gestured to the calm plains of Sunagakure. "You are a man of power now, little brother," Kankuro ignored Gaara's look of boredom, "aren't you going to take advantage of all the benefits that comes with?" A moment of silence. "Are you almost done?" The puppet master puffed out his chest in triumph as he saw he had caught his brother's attention.

"Almost," Gaara glanced up at him with a quizzical look, "why?"

Kankuro swayed slightly as he walked over to him, put his hand on Gaara's desk, leant in and indicated with a nod to all the papers around them. "Get over this insanity and let us leave this place!" He announced, dramatically, "I feel completely walled in." He sniffed and could see Gaara was seriously considering the offer.

It was exactly as Kankuro had said- he felt walled in too. Put in too small a box and told to stay put, that's what it felt like to be Kazekage. He glanced down to the fat, pathetic 'g' he had scribbled and made up his mind instantly.

"Where to?" Gaara asked, already standing. "But I don't want to go anywhere inappropriate." He added before his brother could respond.

"A place where politics is discussed perhaps?" Kankuro asked, trying to hide his smirk, "where they serve fine tea and contemplate the writings of the Great Philosophers?" Gaara put on his robe to leave the palace.

"That sounds agreeable." The Kazeakge said with a nod and, Gaara being Gaara, took no notice of the bellowing laugh his brother gave or the massive pat on the back Kankuro gave him than almost knocked him over in surprise.

"Agreeable," Kankuro murmured, ushering his brother out of the office, "very agreeable."

* * *

Diamonds or rubies? Rubies or emeralds? Crushed silk or chiffon? Tea in a china cup or plum wine from a goblet? Decisions perhaps every girl wishes she could make every day, every hour, as Ai did.

Yes or no?

The only question that mattered was left unuttered, non-existent in a world of choices, in a world of beautiful things.

The girl with too many decisions to make closed the curtain that divided her sleeping quarters and her fountain room as she heard the footsteps of someone fast approaching. Ai looked past her fountain to the mirror ahead and took in what she saw. Fair skin and dark hair with electric blue eyes that shone out in any darkness. She was slim and graceful, as she was trained to be. Was she beautiful? Ai grimaced at the thought. How could she ever know the answer in this world that was bursting at the seams with other beautiful things?

"Ai!" She jumped at the sound of her name and proceeded to wash her hair at the fountain. She leant over, picked up a golden jug and plunged it into the water. She watched as rose petals, put there by another working girl, swirled and fought against the pull as they were sucked into the jug.

"It is your first show tonight!" The voice, excited and sweet, came again from the other side of the curtain. "Megumi-sama has picked out the finest silks," a heartbeat of silence, "I hear the new Kazekage is coming," The voice had changed; no longer excited and jittery, but calm and dreamy. Ai poured the water from the jug over her head and let out a deep breath as the cool water soothed her in Sunagakure's heat.

"They are yet to announce his identity." Ai responded in a bored voice, trying desperately to hide her nerves." It is kept secret until the festival." Her soft voice drifted with the steam through the curtain.

"He will keep his face covered I think," her friend responded, Ai was unsure if she had even listened to her. Just like Miko, the girl behind the curtain, so carefree and witty, no wonder she was everyone's favourite dancer. "Perhaps this new Kazekage will be a regular like the last." Miko's stream of consciousness filtered through the curtain to Ai. "Now he _was _handsome." She heard Ai laugh.

"He was a lot older than you!"

"So? All the Kazelage's are old! It's because they are the most wise and best at fighting or something-"

"I thought your conversations specialised in politics? You should know why." Ai smiled, she enjoyed teasing Miko, and the relaxed conversation was soothing her nerves. Her smile faded as she pushed her hair back. "Oh no…Does that mean that I'm just going to be dancing for an old man?" It was Miko's turn to laugh.

"Yes I suppose," she heard Ai groan, "but there will be the others."

"Others?"

"Everyone is coming to see the new flower of the Tea House!" Miko responded happily. A few moments of silence passed. Miko knew these moments, she had experienced them a few years ago, when it was her first performance. "When you do it a couple of times," Miko chirped in a hopeful voice, "you will gain many admirers and they will give you the most beautiful of gifts."

"Uh-huh." Ai nodded behind the curtain; not paying any attention, trying to keep her mind off it. Unbeknownst to Ai, Miko took great offence to not being listened to, especially when she was trying to help.

"You know he might not be too wrinkly."

"Oh, be quiet Miko!" Ai shouted over and slumped onto a marble seat by the fountain. "I am not allowed to know his identity before everyone else so I will never see him!" Ai reasoned to herself but Miko was uninterested.

"Ooooh…imagine," Miko whispered dreamily, "...you and the Kazekage. That is like a dream come true for most of us." Looking around the room, Miko saw Ai's clothes for her performance laid out on the bed. She went over and straightened them out. Brushing the silk with her fingers and smiling as the gems shone and glittered in the lamplight, she heard Ai push the curtain away to reveal herself in a towel, a look of distress on her face.

"What if he wants to…" Ai's voice trailed away and she slumped her shoulders in defeat; "what would it be like, to be with someone you barely know?" Miko raised an eyebrow; it was entirely unprofessional to speak in the way Ai was. It implied she still had not given in to the rules of her job.

"Ai," Miko said slowly, wondering how to proceed, but upon seeing the look of worry on Ai's face, she quickly decided against a lecture. "You will be fine." Miko reassured her. With a quick smile and nod of the head, she walked up to Ai and kissed her on the forehead. "Perhaps he will give you a nick-name, it's a sure sign of affection!" Miko laughed happile and Ai forced a smile. "I'll prepare drinks," Miko beamed and put a reassuring hand on Ai's shoulder.

Ai let her leave and looked over to the bed. Blush pink silk glistened at her as though reminding her: "it's time."

* * *

The troubled Kazekage rode in a carriage different to that of his brother's. If they were seen together then people might guess the identity of the Kazekage and it was a backward tradition, in Gaara's opinion, that they should not know until the festival. It also explained why Gaara had to wear this ridiculous garb: the traditional Kazekage uniform, complete with hat and face covering. Only his ocean coloured eyes were visible while the rest of him thrashed and ripped at the material, desperate to breathe.

The claustrophobia lead him to lower his window and lean out slightly to catch what little breeze was available in this part of Sunagakure. As he was taking a deep breath in, he saw his brother's carriage, a little further ahead, pull up in front of a house made of glass. The mere size of it impressed Gaara; the palace was not even that big. This house must have been at least seven storeys, with different coloured glass burning as it reflected the dying sun.

As Gaara took in the beautiful home, he thought he spied the moon sitting on the highest balcony and he stared in utter fascination as it glittered and shone from its perch as though welcoming him home.

* * *

From the seventh storey, Ai stood on her balcony in a last attempt to calm down. She took deep breaths and went through her dance in her head as the lyrics of her song, a song she had written, were running fast out of her memory as her nerves crept in.

And all at once they stopped. Like a wave of worry something tore through Ai that caused all her thoughts to stop. Ai had seen it; the carriage of the Kazekage was pulling up outside her home. He was here. The Kazekage had come to see her.


	2. Her First Dance: Welcoming the New Moon

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Her First Dance/Welcoming the New Moon**_

Gaara entered the Tea House flanked by his guards and, through the crowds gathered around the Tea House he even spotted several of his council members wandering towards it in a drunken stupor. His brow furrowed in confusion as he continued to follow Kankuro into the grandiose building; this district was known for containing the night life of Suna, why on Earth would Kankuro bring him here to discuss politics?

His thoughts were interrupted as they entered the building and Gaara was stunned not only by the mere size, but by how beautiful it was. Everything seemed to be made of glass, all of varying shades and the Tea House seemed to be lit by starlight; silvery light flittered and sparkled from lamps that lined the corridor they entered. Gaara kept well between his guards, entirely ambivalent to the whispers he heard around him, his eyes steadily fixed on his elder brother.

Eventually, Gaara's gaze ventured to his surroundings and noticed that the majority of people lining the corridors were women. Dressed in colours only found in dreams, they walked as though their footsteps were followed by the sound of twinkling stars. A group of them giggled as Gaara passed and he looked to them; flowers in their hair and the sound of glitter at their feet was actually produced by anklets. In a moment Gaara put it all together and looked around for his brother in alarm; he could not be seen in a place like this!

"Kankuaro-kun!" Gaara heard a honey-dipped voice call for his brother and strained to see around his guard to a larger, elderly woman who appraised Kankuro with great affection. "it has been too long!" The woman, dressed in alarming shades of pink that glittered with gold trim held out a hand to Kankuro which he took with equal cheeriness.

"Megumi-chan!" Kankuro greeted her with a kiss on her hand to which the woman Gaara now knew to be Megumi almost squealed in delight. The elderly woman was followed by a court of at least eight girls, all in equally bright clothing, giving Kankuro a look that made Gaara almost blush with embarrassment. Megumi was about to tell the girls behind her something when she noticed him.

"Kazekage-sama!" She exclaimed and as she bowed, the girls behind her followed suit. "I am honored you have come to see us! Please," she gestured to the room behind her and as though enchanted, the glass doors slowly opened to reveal a circular room, the edged lines with cushions and low tables- leaving the centre of the room free for performance.

Gaara followed Megumi and Kankuro into the grand room, flooded with light from a crystal chandelier the size of which Gaara had never seen. The floor and ceiling both had a mirrored marble pattern, with swirls of gold and flecks of silver to give the illusion of stars. The girls of Megumi's court followed Gaara as though chained to him; he glanced in the mirrors that lined the room and could see them all behind him, giggling and twirling their hair. Slowly, the young Kazekage became frustrated; Kankuro knew he hated places like this, it is completely inappropriate for a man of power to be seen here. Although, as they took their seats, on cushions around a low table, Gaara could see many members of council also in the room and could feel his cheeks burn slightly as they all realized he was there. He would never let Kankuro forget this embarr-

The Kazekage's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of her. As though she were a bride being given away, Megumi-chan escorted in a girl who couldn't be any older than Gaara. She kept her eyes down out of respect for the Kazekage and let herself be led by the older woman. Dark waves of silken hair fell to her hips and Gaara watched, a strange feeling of amazement stirring up inside of him, as her hair dipped and swayed, following the movement of her hips as she walked. The girl wore a light shade of pink and was surrounded by jewels as though bathed in moonlight and as she came closer Gaara strained his eyes to see her face. Fair skin and soft, petal like lips was all he could see for she kept her head down and Gaara, unknowing of what feeling he was experiencing, had a sudden wave of frustration flow through him as he wanted to command her to look up so he could see her eyes.

"Gaara," Kankuro whispered pointedly and the Kazekage's wonderings were disturbed as he looked around to see a girl in yellow offer him sake. He took the drink but only so he would not be interrupted again when trying to see the girl they brought in. Megumi had left the girl sat in the middle of the mirrored room and walked up to Kankuro.

"This is Ai," she beamed proudly, "my last student! It is her first performance." Gaara was no longer listening; his eyes were focused on her face, silently willing her to look up.

There was silence for a few moments before the instruments started up, a string instrument like a harp struck a note and the girl, as though she knew what it would do to him, looked up straight into his eyes.

For a moment Gaara was breathless; they were the colour of sapphire. Deep and haunting they did not look away from him and Gaara found that he could no tear his gaze from her. As though it were only the two of them in the room she lifted her hands and began to twist them into shapes before petal lips parted and she sang. Gaara wasn't entirely sure what she was singing about; his eyes were hypnotised merely by her movement. She moved with such grace and elegance that the leader of men could not take his eyes away from her figure. Her voice spoke out to him for a moment and he caught words of a first love she had been waiting for.

The dancer called Ai stood and walked over to another man in the audience. She sang to him sweet nothings for a while and the drunkard threw a small red bag at her feet, Ai thanked him with a smile and continued to sing.

Megumi gestured to her student and Ai's gaze came upon the Kazekage. He could see her properly now; she looked so young and delicate and Gaara found that his mouth became dry as she swayed her hips towards him. He quickly grabbed the sake and took a sip. Ai came to sit in front of him and although they were only feet apart, there seemed to be a greater distance between them; the realm of the Kazekage and that of a courtesan were miles apart and yet, he was mesmerized by her.

Realising that Gaara was distracted, Kankuro threw a red bag of jewels at her feet, and her eyes thanked him. Now that she was close, Gaara could hear what she was singing:

"Stay a while, handsome stranger, our night has come," she sang to him and Gaara found he was slowly moving forwards towards her. Upon realizing this, the Kazekage straightened up and he could see her smirk at his enchantment. With a longing look of goodbye, Ai stood and finished the dance.

The song ended with her in the middle of the room; the story of her song having a happy ending- the stranger stayed until the end of forever. The men and women clapped as more silk bags were thrown to her feet; she thanked everyone with smiles and then turned to walk away. Women walked to the middle of the room and picked up the bags before returning their attention to their customers.

Feeling came back into Gaara's body and he took a deep breath as though he had stopped breathing for her entire performance. Kankuro leaned over to him.

"What did you think?" Kankuro whispered as inconspicuously as possible.

"She was-"

"Beautiful?"

"No, I think she was rather arrogant." Gaara's eyes narrowed as he saw her figure in the distance.

"What?" Kankuro was shocked; he knew his brother disliked her profession but there was no need to be so harsh.

"She clearly thinks of herself very highly; probably all the attention from these lecherous fools," Gaara gestured to the rest of the audience.

"What's up with you?" Kankuro replied in disbelief, "this was her first performance; the first time anyone has seen her. They're going to ask you soon-"

"Ask what?" Gaara looked around, worried.

"Kazekage-sama?" The girl in yellow who had sat next to him smiled, "would you like to go and see Ai in private?" Kankuro was sure his brother would say no and was about to diffuse the situation but to his surprise, Gaara nodded. The women around them all squealed in delight as Gaara rose to his feet.

"I'll just stay here." Kankuro winked at him as the women lead Gaara to another room. Gaara looked back and saw his brother laughing with the other men- teasing the girls and calling for more sake.

* * *

The Kazekage was growing tired and restless in his garb as he was lead to Ai's room. It was stuffy and uncomfortable in his outfit and he was trying to deny that it was mainly due to nerves over meeting this girl. They stopped short outside a room with a huge blue door which seemed to sparkle, but upon closer inspection Gaara could see that the tiny flecks of light were small silver flowers painted onto the ageing wood. The women bowed to him.

"Ai is just through the door." They left. Gaara looked at the door and thought for a moment before impulsively deciding on how to approach the situation. He glanced around to make sure no one was there and took off his customary robes to reveal his civilian clothes beneath. Gaara wanted to see if she would still smirk at him knowing it was the monster that the villagers knew as Gaara. He placed his robes behind a vase containing giant pink flowers, before pressing both hands to the cold wood of the door and pushing it open.

The room was just as beautiful as the rest of the Tea House and Gaara spied the dancer sitting on a four poster bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, still in her dancing clothes. As he approached her Gaara saw her glance up at him. She lowered her gaze quickly.

Ai knew exactly who this boy was; Gaara was notorious, of course, for being the youngest son of the fourth Kazekage, with the demon Shukaku sealed inside of him. Having primarily focused on History, Ai knew a great deal about the Shinobi families of Sunagakure. She knew all there was to know about the boy. What she was not prepared for, however, was how effortlessly handsome he was.

Her skin burned under his gaze; those ocean coloured eyes seemed to penetrate her as she sat, begging for another chance to look at him. Cautiously, she let her eyes travel along the bed and up to him. Gaara walked to her as though a warrior going in to battle; he held himself to his full height and appraised her at the foot of her bed. They looked at each other for a moment and Ai felt butterflies flutter in her stomach at the sight of him; crimson waves of hair hid the kanji symbol on his forehead that Ai had read about and those oceanic eyes looked at her with such intent that her body weakened.

"Why do you look relived?" Gaara's voice was softer than she imagined. Those sapphire eyes glanced up at him and she smiled upon realizing they must be the same age.

"I just," her voice faltered as she took in the sight of him, "I thought I would be seeing the Kazekage. I was worried I would do something wrong." She tried to finish her sentence as quickly as possible because she was growing frustrated that she could not speak when he looked at her.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked and she nodded slowly.

"Gaara," she spoke his name softly, "the shinobi." He was surprised.

"Are you not scared?" Gaara asked and folded his arms before narrowing his eyes on her.

"No." Ai spoke with such confidence that it stirred something inside of him, "because I can see you too are scared." She smirked and Gaara tried hard to hide his nerves. Why did this girl, who he had only known a few moments, make him so nervous?

"You would rather see Gaara than the new Kazekage?" She nodded. "Oh? And what is so bad about the new Kazekage?"

"It's just that…well," her voice dropped to a whisper and she leant forwards, "he must be really old."

For the first time in a long time Gaara gave a small smile and upon seeing it, Ai blushed. Another impulse rippled through him and he moved away from the bed and instead went to sit on a chair that was on the balcony outside. There were two chairs surrounding a low table; Gaara took his seat and looked back for her.

"There's no need to sit there." Gaara called to her. "Come out here. I wish to speak with you."

"To speak with me?" Gaara heard her anklets before her voice, they tinkled with every footstep and, as she came out into the night-time, Gaara watched with childlike fascination as she looked with such love up to the starlit sky. She had wrapped her veil around herself like a shawl and even the as the veil dragged on the floor behind her, it made a melodious jingle.

"I hear you are capable of having a conversation." She blushed at the harshness in his voice and sat opposite him as he gestured. She found him so authoritative and commanding but in a calm and even kind manner. Power seeped from him; Sabaku no Gaara was known for being violent and ill-tempered, able to strike down anyone who he wanted but to her he acted with such a peaceful demeanour, she could not believe it was the person she had read about.

"What is it you wish to talk of?" Ai asked and Gaara had to pull himself together as her dark rimmed eyes appraised him with such innocence.

"I want to ask you a question, see if you can answer it." Ai smiled; she liked riddles. As he talked she began to remove her jewelry and as it came off Gaara could see it was pure gold and the stones were all real. "Why is it all women are vain?" Gaara looked genuinely bemused until he saw the offence on her face and was forced to smile a little at her pout.

"Excuse me?" Ai looked at him and blushed as she realised that someone so handsome must have had their fair share of vain women.

"I know of many women who only go outside at night to show the moon that they are more beautiful than her." Her eyes glanced down and she blushed. He thought he'd stepped over some line but she spoke again:

"With respect, Gaara-sama, we are not vain." As she spoke, Ai began to remove her earrings. Gaara rolled his eyes at her answer and was immediately shocked when she changed her mind and became angry. "Even if we are, so what?"

She placed her foot onto a chair beside her and clicked her tongue impatiently as she struggled to remove her anklet. Ai was struggling to remove the chain around her feet; the clasp was stuck and-

"Ah," she gasped as Gaara slipped off his chair and went to kneel in front of her, he could see her tense up in fear or nerves as he placed his fingertips on the metal around her ankle. The dancer got a hold of herself. "Why should we not be vain or even arrogant?" Ai began and as she did she lifted her foot and, as Gaara was trying to untie her anklet, she tugged her foot towards herself so Gaara was pulled towards her. He looked up at her, "when we have the world at our feet?" Gaara had stopped trying to untie the anklet, as he was enchanted merely by her lack of fear of him, but was pulled ever closer to her as she tugged again. She leant towards him and in a whisper added; "even when we break hearts," she tugged a little harder and he had to move closer, "you have to admit we do it with a certain charm." Tugging again he almost fell into her lap. He could not tear his eyes away from her deep blue ones, their faces were merely inches away, their breathing had hastened and Gaara could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "Why not be vain when our beauty drives you crazy?" She smiled at him but her smile faded quickly as Gaara moved his face close to hers. Her eyes locked on his lips as he took a breath.

"I…" He paused and saw her nervousness grow at what he was about to do, "untied your anklet." He held it up for her to see and dropped it. Ai quickly snatched it from the air and relaxed. She leant back to appraise her opponent; he sat back too and remained calm and controlled. It did not go unnoticed by Gaara that Ai was annoyed. She stood haughtily and walked over to the edge of the balcony. According to her training, she knew she had to show disinterest to entice him and, to her surprise, it seemed to work.

"Listen to me a moment," Gaara walked after her and was at her side in an instant. "Would you like to know the secret of your beauty and charm?" She turned to him and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "It is the weaker of men who behold magic in your mundane actions and honour your silly tantrums with attention." He growled at her, "we, men, make your looks legendary. Where would you be without us-"

"If you think we owe our looks to you then it is clear that your own beauty has you so intoxicated that you can't think straight." She scowled. "Why else would you talk such nonsense?" She turned away and walked off but Gaara was too quick for her, he grabbed her hand and twisted her arm behind her back. "Hey," Ai looked around for someone to help, "that hurts!" She struggled and looked back to him in shock. But her struggling stopped at once for she did not realize how close she was to him. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She looked deep into his eyes and was grabbed by the intensity in them that their hold paralysed her.

"Obviously you have missed the point." His voice came out as a low growl. "Never mind. If vanity suits you then that's fine." She rolled her eyes and tried to move away but he pulled her in closer so her back was against his chest. "Just don't forget," Gaara whispered, "that the glow of your face is because of me."

"It's clear now that we have cast a spell on you," she breathed, "with our petal soft skin, lips like buds and hair so dark and fragrant like the night." She glanced at him, waiting for a response. When he said nothing she smiled triumphantly, pulled her arm out of his grip and began to walk away into the room.

"See what I mean? Not all girls have dark hair; you were just thinking of yourself." She turned back to him, fully irritated now. "Anyway, we're the ones who compared your skin to blossoms, lips to buds and your hair to the beauty of the night." He whispered, her eyes were glassy as though seeing him in some different light. His voice still held the growl as before but there was something that made her catch her breath. "Is it not men who respond to your glance as if it's magical? And your words as if they are poetry? It is us who gave you this beauty, don't forget that." Gaara looked at her once more and realised her eyes held defeat. He smiled with triumph and went to walk past her to exit the room. She held up a hand and placed in on his chest.

"Listen to me a moment?" She whispered.

"What is there left to say?"

"You are the ones who call us vain and arrogant, yet beautiful and elegant. So you know what?" He looked confused for a moment and was startled when she looked up at him with a smile. "Don't blame us for your mistakes." Her eyes held daggers and Gaara, frustrated with the feelings she stirred up inside of him, had had enough.

"Here." He held up a bag and threw it at her. She caught it but did not look as if she had even registered his actions; she merely stared at him.

"What is it?"

"Payment, for our time together. Farewell, Ai." Gaara walked up to the door.

"Goodbye, Gaara-sama." He looked at her once more and they stood, caught in a mysterious bond of attraction, confusion and lust, neither knowing what to make of the other. He finally gained the courage to tear his eyes away from her and leave the room.

Upon the door closing Ai sat on the bed, breathing hard, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Slowly she began to laugh; who would have thought Gaara, the jinchuriki, could be so…

Ai's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ai cringed under the hope that it was him again. Miko walked in, beaming at her friend who seemed breathless.

"That was really quick…oh, you're still dressed." She looked disappointed and could not understand why Ai was smiling so much.

"Yes, he just wanted to talk." Ai shook her head.

"Well, what was he like?" Miko asked and jumped on the bed, Ai sat next to her, excited to tell her friend about her first encounter.

"He was," Ai searched for the right word, "arrogant!" Miko laughed. "And…hot as sin." The girl's eyes misted over and Miko raised an eyebrow.

"Reall?" Miko couldn't understand how her friend had such a quick change of heart towards her customer.

"I was speechless under his gaze," Ai continued.

"Wow," Miko looked puzzled. "At least you've made a good impression on the Kazekage." Ai turned to her friend sharply. Her look of far-off dreaminess suddenly replaced with one of wide-eyed in shock.

"KAZEKAGE?"


	3. Desire

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Desire**_

~_Two Days Later_~

Lost in a world of silk and golden thread, Ai sat, transfixed, by the sight of red. It burned for her in the distance, bright and vibrant, mocking, almost, in the callous way the silk billowed and swayed when hung in front of the window. The red silk licked the floor as it moved, inviting her to wrap it around herself.

Her thoughts travelled to her first meeting with him, with Gaara, the jinchuriki. She sighed; so he had become the Kazekage? With a small smile, she looked down to the white silk in her hands that she was supposed to be inspecting. He had become the greatest shinobi in the village…no wonder he was so arrogant and unnecessarily confrontational! He spoke to her as though he already owned her!...But why did that make him so much more-

"Ai?" The sound of her name spoken so sharply snatched her out of her fantasies and threw her back into reality. In reality she was sat on the floor, besides Megumi and Miko's throne-like chairs, as a merchant threw various fabrics into the air, letting them unfurl at the women's feet. Megumi was choosing material to be made into dresses for the women of the Tea House to wear at the festival that evening.

Megumi, Miko and the tailor were looking at Ai in alarm and she followed their eyes downwards to her hands. "Oh, sorry!" She exclaimed and released the white silk in her hands as she realised she had been clutching the delicate fabric with such a vice-like grip that she could have damaged it. Brushing her hair behind her ear in embarrassment, Ai looked over to her teacher who's look of alarm did not falter as she nodded towards the material in Miko's hands.

"Oh," Ai spoke softly and looked down to the turquoise colour that had caught Miko's eye and smiled her approval. "It is beautiful," Ai said and stole a quick glance up at the red silk. The merchant, an elderly man that had been the tailor for the Tea House for many years, saw her looking and smiled.

"Has red captured your attention, _utsukushii (pretty one)_?" He asked her and Ai jumped and blushed under such scrutiny.

"No." She said defiantly and averted her eyes from the window.

"Ai will be wearing white." Megumi, Ai's teacher, stated without looking up from her inspection of the turquoise material Miko had chosen. Her aged hands ran along the cotton, which had silver threads spun throughout it to look like shooting stars.

"White?" Ai asked in surprise; why on Earth would Megumi-sama want to send her when she had argued with the Kazekage and who she had then described as arrogant to her fellow courtesans? Surely her meeting with him was a cause for embarrassment; the Kazekage had practically stormed out! "I'm going?" Megumi looked up at the girl and sighed in exasperation before bowing her head to let her round glasses slide to the tip of her nose so she could look at Ai properly.

"We have to present a gift to the Kazekage on behalf of the Tea House-"

"But I-"

"You will be suitable."

"But he-"

"That is all, Ai." Megumi stated in a matter-of-fact way. _Suitable, _the word echoed in Ai's head as she sat in stony silence.

From that moment the meeting followed in the usual business-like manner, the vibrancy of the red silk seemed to fade away and dissolve into the background as Ai sat, forced to stare at different shades of white, silently fuming at the thought of being in the same room as that egotistic, vain, good looking, fool! Ai simply crossed her arms and pouted all the way through the fitting, occasionally she nodded or murmured agreement until, eventually, the tailor left.

Ai stood as soon as Megumi and Miko had said goodbye to him and shut the doors. The young dancer tapped her feet impatiently to hear the jingle of her anklets; she lifted up her long skirt and inspected the chains on her feet to ensure there were no entanglements of the bells.

Miko and Megumi were stood by the door where they had bid the tailor farewell and, when Miko left, Megumi turned and appraised Ai who was inspecting her anklets as though they had done her some personal insult.

"I hope the Kazekage can see past the dark cloud of pride that spins above your head." Megumi said sternly and Ai looked at her in earnest.

"I'm sorry, sensei," the young girl let her shoulders fall in defeat; "it's just that…the way he talks to me! The way he _looks _at me! You would think he-"

"Owned you?" Megumi raised an eyebrow at her student and waited for Ai to respond. Ai cast her eyes downwards and pulled all her hair to one side of her neck.

There was no need to confirm it, for it was true; Ai belonged to him the moment he threw the bag of coins to her at their first meeting.

A few more moments of silence passed between the two women; both stuck on either sides of the courtesan world. The elder, Megumi, was too used to shutting her emotions away to realise exactly how Ai felt and Ai, the younger, was too naïve to really understand the implications of her trade.

Ai watched out of the corner of her eye as her teacher walked over to her throne-like chair and sat down before gesturing for Ai to sit in front of her. Ai did as told and knelt in front of her teacher as she had been taught to do from the moment she arrived at this place. Megumi reached down and took Ai's hands in hers; she looked deep into the young girl's blue eyes that were so full of hope.

"You know why it has to be you?" Megumi asked in a voice that was dripping with melancholy. "Because you are untouched." Ai lowered her gaze; she hated being reminded of it- of the fact that her worth came down simply to her virginity. "That is suitable for a Kazekage…" Megumi continued to speak, giving Ai the age-old lecture that every courtesan hears from their master. "I am sure I do not need to remind you of your uses? Of how to behave amongst men of power?" Megumi questioned the young courtesan who looked up at her and shook her head. "He will adore you." Megumi said sweetly as though speaking to a daughter; the elder woman lifted her hand and stroked Ai's hair in a motherly way. "He will marvel at your beauty and gasp in your seduction," Ai lowered her head, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "And he may even tell you he loves you." After a moment of Megumi looking her up and down, she sighed, "you know no one can truly love a courtesan, just as a courtesan can never truly love anyone. She sells only a dream of her heart, an imitation." Megumi put a finger under Ai's chin and lifted the young girl's head to look up at her. "You know why I am telling you this?" Ai nodded.

"There is only heartbreak in love." She recited. Ai inwardly scoffed; her teacher had no idea that the person she was talking about was Gaara. She was lucky in one respect; Gaara, the monster, was incapable of loving anyone. In a strange, twisted way, it was a perfect match.

* * *

The young Kazekage was sat at his desk, as he always was since his appointment. Scribbling on papers, looking through mission reports and occasionally requesting things from the servant outside his office.

Gaara was reading through a particularly mundane report from a team of genin when his concentration was broken and he heard it. A noise that had been haunting him for days, giving him tormented nights and hours full of lost thoughts.

That damned tinkling! As though stars were falling to the Earth and shattering into millions of tiny pieces. He heard it everywhere; he could not be rid of it!

Today he was supposed to be preparing for the traditions involved with accepting the position of Kazekage but Gaara's thoughts were a world away from anything to do with the festival tonight. His mind was solely occupied by a vision of blue eyes, being licked and teased by dark, shimmering waves of hair. The young Kazekage, beside himself with frustration, ran a hand through his hair and sighed. The look on her face when he said goodbye was a look he will never forget. Her beautiful eyes narrowed on him as though asking him to stay and there was something in that look, a feeling of want and confusion that stirred something in Gaara that he had taken two years to calm down. Something shook and vibrated in his very core, at just the thought of her.

"No!" He said out loud and brought his fist down on the table with such force that a small crack formed in the wood. This distraction was ridiculous! She was a courtesan! She sold herself and that was something that Gaara simply could not fathom; did it not insult her, to be amongst women who degraded themselves?

He stood from his desk, determined to find the source of the sound and be rid of it forever. As he stood, however, his elder sister entered the room.

"Gaara," Temari said and raised an eyebrow at the look of surprise on her brother's face; "going somewhere?"

"I," Gaara thought about how absurd it would sound to Temari if he told her he was being tormented by the sound of anklets, "was coming to find you." He finished.

"Oh?" Temari stood in the doorway and appraised her younger brother; he had been somewhat distracted for the past few days. Gaara was, perhaps, non-responsive most days but distractions lead him to days without speaking a word to anyone. It was unnerving, this new Gaara, the quiet, respectful Kazekage that had come to be. Temari was sure it was merely the quiet before the storm. Gaara took a deep breath and exhaled as though irritated by something.

"How are plans for this evening going?" He asked, hoping she would remember she had to organise something and leave. To his dismay, Temari smiled proudly and put her hands on her hips.

"We are almost finished." The blonde shinobi could already tell her brother had stopped listening. "The council requires your presence in one hour to go over the Kazekage agreement." She said sharply and Gaara looked up at her.

"Oh, yes, I'll be there." He rubbed the back of his neck and did not bid his sister farewell as she left the room with a cheerful wave.

Temari closed the door behind her and leant against the hard wood to contemplate what was happening. She thought Gaara might be nervous about today but he seemed positively terrified; his mind seemed to be racing with thoughts he never let anyone in on. She bit her thumb impatiently as she walked away and couldn't help but think Kankuro had something to do with this.

* * *

The evening came quickly for the new Kazekage. Too quickly; he wanted to finish his work before the festival but he had been so distracted that he ran out of time.

He had already signed the formal agreement earlier that day, with his council and siblings as witnesses. Gaara thought of how his hand had trembled slightly, as the weight of responsibility loomed over him before he signed. But before he knew it, Gaara was already a few steps from his brother and sister who were stood, waiting to take him out to be seen by the village.

"Oi, Gaara!" Kankuro called to him and Gaara, feeling a little numb and apprehensive, looked down the corridor to his elder siblings and began to walk towards them.

"How are you feeling?" Temari asked with a smile as he approached. She exchanged a quick look with Kankuro; both had noticed Gaara's lack of enthusiasm for the impending evening. They were surprised, however, when Gaara took his place between them and looked at his sister with soft eyes.

"What makes a good Kazekage?" He asked her and the blonde shinobi bowed her head with a smile.

"You do." She replied and put a hand on his shoulder. Gaara turned as he felt the weight of Kankuro's hand fall onto his other shoulder. The puppeteer looked at his brother with a broad smile.

"Ready?" Kankuro asked. Gaara nodded.

The three sand siblings walked in their line to the doors that lead to the palace's most grand balcony. It was a place where the Kazekage usually addressed his people in a time of crisis or jubilance. Gaara wondered which of those two would be felt tonight.

He took a breath as the two huge wooden doors creaked open before them and for a moment the light of the dying sun blinded Gaara as he walked out. He blinked against the golden light to see the inhabitants of Sunagakure stood in silence. Thousands of civilians looked up at the young Kazekage who was stood on the balcony above them.

Temari was greeted by a silence she knew too well; the silence of fear. Each member of the village saw Gaara stood before them and could not believe their eyes. Would they accept him?

"Gone," Gaara spoke suddenly, "are the times of hardship and violence." Temari turned to her brother, shocked to hear him speak like a born-leader. "Gone are the hours of terror and silence." Temari felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. "I am your Kazekage, your servant, my people." Gaara's voice carried on the winds of the desert, down to the gathered crowd that stood in eerie silence. "I bring the beginning of fortuitous days." Before Gaara had even finished his sentence, Sunagakure erupted into a frenzy of cheers and shouts of celebration.

"Gaara," Kankruo whispered and wiped his eyes hurriedly as the red headed Kazekage turned to him.

"What is it, Kankuro?" Gaara asked softly, looking at both his siblings with a small frown. They were smiling, but their eyes were misted over; what strange emotion was that?

"Nothing," Kankuro replied and, in an instant, his attitude changed and he embraced his brother. "Let's celebrate!"

"Yes!" Temari shouted and as soon as Kankuro let go of his younger brother, Temari grabbed a hold of Gaara, almost suffocating him.

* * *

The evening passed much as Gaara had anticipated; being pushed back and forth to meet various people of his council. Putting his hand in the air to wave at his people when they called him. Eating with whoever gave him food, drinking with whoever gave him wine. As the day moved on and the sun began to set Gaara found he was tired from the constant blushing over the attention everyone suddenly showed him.

"It's been a long day, I want to rest." Everyone seemed to agree with him on this and as he left he had to endure many goodbyes before he reached the palace again. His escort left him here and now he was sure he could hear the haunting sound of anklets once more.

"Gaara!" He turned, not at the sound of his name, but at the tinkle of anklets. His expression of hope was replaced by mild disgust as he was approached by a slightly tipsy Kankuro.

"Oh, it's you." Gaara was actually talking to the girl in turquoise who was draped over Kankuro's arm; she wore anklets.

"I think you'll find our friends at the Tea House have left a gift for you in the palace." Kankuro winked at him. Gaara's eyes widened as Kankuro and the girl slinked away, back into the festivities. The Kazekage sighed before ascending the steps to his quarters.

* * *

Gaara approached his bedroom door with caution; he had searched every other room in the palace and they had been empty so he was sure he would find the gift in here. He pushed the doors open and looked around the room.

"You!" He stopped in shock at his door as he saw who was in front of him.

"Kazekage." Ai was stood in the middle of the room and bowed as she addressed him, trying to hide her resentment for being back in the same room as him.

"What're you doing here?!" Gaara was puzzled by the intrusion but shut the door behind him and walked into his room.

"I'm your gift…from the Tea House." She answered with equal confusion; why was he playing innocent?

"But why would they send _you-_"

"Hey!" She stood to her full height and dropped her sweet-toned voice before crossing her arms. "I wasn't exactly too thrilled about it either." She pouted.

"You're angry…at me?" Gaara too, folded his arms and looked her up and down as though she were an opponent to weigh up.

"You never told me you were the Kazekage!" As she said it, Ai seemed to remember that he was indeed the Kazekage and she should hold her tongue in front of him. She bowed her head and waited for him to speak.

Gaara considered her for a moment, stood before him in a white silk dress, adorned with diamonds the size of which he had never seen. She even had a string of diamonds tied in her hair like a halo. Ai looked innocent, and unaware of any affect she had on mankind; with her glistening pink lips and dark-rimmed eyes, Gaara found he could not hold on to his shock.

"Forgive me." He stated calmly and as he did Ai looked up and unfolded her arms, "how long are you here for?" Gaara asked and removed his Kazekage hat before placing it on a table next to him. His sudden change in demeanour made Ai soften too; perhaps she had been too quick to judge.

"I will stay at the palace for as long as you wish." Ai began to walk over to him as she saw he was going to remove the outer robe of the Kazekage uniform. "Here," she murmured and put both her hands on his right shoulder, "allow me." Gaara looked down to her, she was mere inches from his face glistening and glittering in diamonds, keeping her gaze purposefully averted.

Ai pulled gently at the material and guided it off his right shoulder into her hands. She attempted to move to his left side but he grabbed her hand before it reached his shoulder. Her skin was warm to his touch and so delicately soft, Gaara felt as though he could break her if he held her hand with too much strength. Finally her gaze met his and Ai smiled sweetly at the look of distrust he gave her.

"To stop someone who is trying to help you," she whispered and almost blew the words gently into his ear, "is simply bad manners, Kazekage." Gaara leant towards her.

"And to dance in front of intoxicated men," he paused for a moment, watching her grow intimidated by his closeness, "is shameful." He let her hand go violently and walked past her, shrugging off the rest of his cloak as he did so. Gaara placed it on a chair beside his bed and turned to her. She had not moved, with her back to him, Ai spoke softly.

"Were you not one of those men, Kazekage?" She turned to him, her diamond earrings and bangles tinkling as she shimmered in the moonlight before him. Her eyes narrowed on him and a smirk of triumph struck her face; the Kazekage had met his match.

Beneath his cloak he wore a long black, full sleeved shirt and dark trousers. He leant against his bedpost, folded his arms and watched the girl in white smirk in a way that made something in Gaara stir and wake. It was almost as though Shukaku could smell her, could want her, could see how fragile and delicate she was; could see how breakable she was. He tore his gaze from her in an attempt to calm this rising desire.

Gaara had to get away from her. Or she had to get away from him.

"Leave." The young Kazekage breathed the word as though suppressing anger. His tone frightened Ai and he heard her jewellery jingle as she took a step back in fear.

"'Til morning, Kazekage." Gaara heard her say and looked up in time to see her white veil steal out of the door in her wake.


	4. The Tempest & The Moon

**Before the chapter begins I would like to make something clear: sometimes Ai will say words in Japanese (to the best of Valentine's ability) in the middle of "speaking" English. I have done this because I think it is a good way of demonstrating that A****i traditionally speaks an ancient, more beautiful version of the language so dips in and out of either dialect. It is simply to add a little more realism to the story.**

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

_**The Tempest &amp; The Moon**_

The morning following the festival saw the village buzzing with excitement over a new Kazekage, over a new era of prosperity. The red headed shinobi that they were all talking about walked through the palace greeted by smiles and cheerful waves to which he had no idea how to respond. Gaara simply nodded thanks to anyone who greeted him and blushed as young women in the palace smiled at him in a way they had never done so before. Bizzarely, Gaara almost missed being feared; at least then he was not put under any pressure to interact with anyone.

The Kazekage approached his office and opened the door to find Ai, lying on her front on the chaise chair that lined the windows of his office. She was dressed in shocking pink with the embroidery of pale green and blue flowers twisting around her figure. It was the simplest Gaara had ever seen her dressed; with a thin gold chain around her neck, matching minimalist anklets and bangles and small gold studs in her ears. Her hair was tied up in a braid but she let a few loose curls frame her face as she lay, nonchalant and unaware of her discourtesy. She looked like a doll, almost, porcelain and ornate, lounging in his office as though it were hers. At the end of the chair she had put a small table on which she had placed playing cards. She did not look up as the Kazekage entered.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked as he walked into his office. She kept her gaze on the playing cards in front of her, occasionally looking at the few cards she had in her hands. The pack of cards was decorated with flowers and golden numerals; Gaara eyed them with scrutiny.

"Winning a bet," the girl gestured to the cards laid out in front of her and continued to ignore him. Gaara sighed.

"What are you doing _in my office_?" Gaara snarled and began to grow impatient as she still did not look over to him. Ai sighed and blew a curl softly away from her lips.

"Growing bored of the conversation offered therein," she replied with such insolence that the Kazekage shut his door loudly, walked over to her and waited for her to look up, all the while trying to prevent his brow from furrowing in frustration. He would not respect her actions by reacting to them. "Do you need something, Kazekage?" Ai asked sweetly and looked up to him with a smile. Her electric blue eyes, full of mischief, caught sight of his face and for a moment she was paralyzed by him. He noticed the smirk fade from her face as she took in the sight of him. Unaware, as Gaara always was, of what he did to women, he shoved an envelope in her face.

"Take this to Kankuro," he said loudly and it seemed to shock her back to Earth. Her eyes widened and blinked up at him as Gaara nudged the letter towards her. After a moment Ai shot him a look of indignation before returning to her game. The Kazekage jerked in shock; "hey!" He shouted at her; how dare she ignore him? Ai continued to pick up cards and inspect them before smiling and placing them into the growing pile in her hand.

"You know, Kazekage, the _uguisu (nightingale)_ only sings when it hears music," she responded. "Ask a little sweeter…and I will consider your command." In less than a moment Gaara flicked his wrist, a gust of wind issued forth, scattering her cards onto the carpet. "Goodness!" Ai exclaimed and sat up as he walked past her. "Upon hearing a 'no' you bring such a tempest to my doorstep?" The young Kazekage went to sit at his desk and looked at her with a bored expression; she spoke such an ancient dialect! Her riddles and poetry infuriated him as much as her actions. "You have a terrible temper." She giggled and answered his expression which clearly suggested he did not want to be spoken to so enigmatically. Gaara looked at her with bored eyes before deciding to treat her with the same disdain she had shown him; he took the papers on the desk in front of him and began to work.

The courtesan eyed him coyly from her robes of deep pink, her big blue eyes giving him sideways glances as she slinked over to his bookshelf. Holding her cards tightly in her hand she walked, alongside the Kazekage's private library, towards him until she came to his desk. Ai stood before him, opposing him, daring him to speak again but Gaara remained steadfast and kept his eyes on his work; trying to show her he did not care for her company. He refused to even ask her to leave.

"Come," Ai said softly, so softly in fact that Gaara looked up at her; wondering what had changed her attitude suddenly. She stood at the edge of his desk, her cards hanging loosely in her right hand. "If you can place the letter in my hands, I will do as you say." Slowly the Kazekage rose, accepting her challenge and the girl's eyes flooded with mischief once more. Quickly, Gaara snatched the cards from her hand and she gasped in offence. "Hey, give them back!" She exclaimed and went to grab them as Gaara extended them to her but he snatched them back in an instant.

"Sorry, would you like me to do something for you?" He asked with no trace of humour and extended them to her. Like a lioness hunting her prey, she narrowed her eyes on him and waited a moment before, in a viper-like action, she want to grab them but the shinobi was, of course, too quick for her and moved them out of her grasp.

"Hey!" She shouted and there was something in the way her lips pouted and her brow furrowed that made Gaara give a small smile.

"Sorry," he said after seeing her reaction and went to put the cards on the desk between them. As Ai went to retrieve her cards in a rush, Gaara snatched them out of her reach so that Ai's hand came down on the table with such force, that she withdrew her hand instantly and cried out in pain.

"Ouch," she gasped and looked up at him with a hurtful look, cradling her hand. "I was mistaken," she turned form him in a huff. "You are Raijin _(A/N: God of thunder and lightning- she is likening Gaara to the tempest mentioned earlier) _himself." She turned from him with a hurtful look and crossed her arms in frustration.

Gaara was unsure if it were out of annoyance or guilt, but he did not like to see her upset. He walked around the table to stand in front of her and handed her the cards.

"Please," he asked the nightingale, "will you take the letter?"

With an appreciative smile, Ai held out her hand. Gaara went to place the letter in her outstretched hand but her smile was replaced by one of malevolence and she threw the cards in his face viciously. Without his gourd, sand did not lend him shelter from her revenge and the cards scattered around the pair.

Ai had not even blinked before-

"Kazekage!" Ai gasped as Gaara moved so quickly she did not have time to register him put his hand up and grab a handful of her hair. She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes and he stared back at her. His face was passive and gentle, as though nothing unusual was happening but Ai could see that there was something behind his eyes that she had never seen before. A violent intent that flooded her with dread- before he had seemed playful but this, this horror was real. Ai put a hand on his where he was holding her hair and looked up at him in fear.

"Do you know what the tempest does to the moon?" He growled, looking into her fear-filled eyes, breathing in her scent. She remained quiet. "It clouds it in darkness. Swallows it in anguish." As she tried to wriggle free he pulled harder and shivered in pleasure as he saw the look of pain on her face. "Leave, whore." He snapped and let go of her hair, Ai recoiled and cowered away from him, her eyes watering from pain. "Women of sin are not fit to wander the same halls as a Kage." He spat at her and walked back to his chair. She remained with her back to him, her beautiful hair that she took hours to set for him, now askew with curls falling loose of the braid.

"Whore." She laughed as she said it, her shoulders shook, "judged by a title that was thrust upon me by forces beyond my control." She turned to him quickly, her eyes burning with tears of frustration. "Tell me, Kazekage- do the rain drops dodge me as I walk? Does the sunlight hide away from my face for the shame of touching me? Do the winds of the desert not offer me pleasurable salvation in the Summer months?" She paused and waited for him to respond. The Kazekage looked away and Ai, aware of her own vulnerability, dropped her gaze. "If nature does not discriminate, why do you?" A sickly smile adorned her face; "we are the same, you and I, Gaara." Upon hearing her say his given name he looked up to her, a feeling of guilt rising in his stomach. "Both put into positions that we did not ask for and then forced to play out that role. You escaped," she laughed and gestured to him, "because you are a shinobi, because you are the son of a Kazekage, because you are a man." Ai spat at him and shook her head in resignation as Gaara looked away. "A whore." She paused, her emotions flooding her. "I defy you, Kazekage- find another woman who speaks as though she were the daughter of Benten _(A/N: Goddess of words, speech, eloquence etc.)_. One, who can tell you how to resolve political difficulties in a moment, who can recount the great history of our village, who can leave you as satisfied as I can." She stopped, taking pleasure in the colour that rose in his cheeks upon hearing her spoke so bluntly. "Bring this celestial creature to me and I will kiss the ground on which she walks." Ai looked at him in disgust. "Yes, I am a whore," Ai said, holding herself to her full height. "Do we courtesans not have hearts?" She asked him, "do we not bleed? Are we not human?" At her own words Ai gasped as a tear fell from her eyelashes; how did she let her emotions get the better of her? The fragile girl seemed to remember who she was talking to and bowed, "whatever your wish, Kazekage, I shall take my leave." She stated without emotion. The girl in pink turned away gently and walked to the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. "In case you are wondering; I won my bet." She cocked her head back to him and saw his face, full of incomprehension. "You are heartless." With the last word, she left his office.


	5. Stalemate

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Stalemate **_

Mornings in the Kazekage's palace were unmatched; desert sunlight, golden and warming, flooded rooms to the brim with a shining brilliance. If you woke early enough, before the servants began to bang the water pots in the kitchen and call out to each other with instructions on how to maintain the grandeur of the place, you could hear birdsong. Sweet and mesmerizing, the birds of Suna spoke to anyone who dared listen while they recounted the tales of the night.

The quiet of morning, the peace that Suna felt in the early hours of the day, was unrivalled, in Ai's opinion and as she walked quietly through the palace, she found herself becoming lost and enchanted by the beautiful solitude that presented itself. It did not however, shake a more pressing matter from her mind.

Three days had passed since her argument with the Kazekage and it was a conversation that would haunt her forever for it spread around the courtesan community like wildfire in the hours following the incident. Ai had spoken out of turn, out of naiveté and offended the Kazekage. But this news was not the biggest rumor spinning around her head in lost whispers. She knew the women of the Tea House, other Houses even, were talking about it. Ai could feel the chill in the wind as she walked passed them and endured their sneers. They all knew it. Megumi knew it. It weighed on her like a dark cloud of incompetence; Ai had failed to seduce the Kazekage.

After he had told her to leave she kept to her word and avoided him like the other side of a river bank; ever-twisting, ever-following, never to meet the other side. They had not seen each other since and Ai could feel the reputation of the Tea House slipping from her grasp. Failure to solidify her relationship with the Kazekage meant that the Tea House would be known for having second-rate, Kazekage-rejected, average dancers. It meant that her own reputation as a dancer would be diminished before her career even began. It was a business transaction. He was a client and she needed to fulfil a contract. And yet she felt that there was so much more going on behind those ocean eyes.

"Ai!"She turned at the sound of her name, just as she was about to enter the quarters of the palace that usually housed the courtesans. The young dancer had a look of polite interest as a man, a few years older than her, with a mess of brown hair, approached her with a smile.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly and the look of innocence on her face made the boy laugh as he realized she did not recognize him. He came to a halt beside her.

"It's me," as he spoke she raised an eyebrow before a look of realization took over her features.

"Kankuro-san!" She smiled up at him, taking in his face without the usual purple paint, "you have a handsome face; why do you mar what the Gods gave you with war paint?" He blinked down at her, a thin smile spreading across his face; so delicate and simple, how on Earth did she match up with his younger, blood-thirsty, erratically-aggressive brother? Dressed in blue, Ai made hearts melt, but could the warmth of her do anything to the Kazekage, famous for having a heart of stone? Kankuro's smile faded at the thought of this; Gaara could hurt this innocent girl with just a look.

"Even you hide your face behind a veil," Kankuro answered as they walked through to the courtyard that was devoted to the courtesans by some ancient Kazekage. Ai smiled coyly and was about to respond when another voice joined the fray.

"Word has it that three nights have passed and the Kazekage and his first courtesan are yet to sleep in the same room." Miko, Ai's friend from the Tea house, teased her as she walked up to the pair and handed Kankuro some tea. Ai narrowed her eyes on her friend.

"Why, Miko-chan, we all know the most beautiful of flowers bloom last; the sunshine of Summer is reserved for them alone."

Kankuro beamed, "You speak so wonderfully, Ai!" The dancer looked over with an appreciative smile and bowed her head, "you have stolen my heart." Upon hearing this, laughter filled the air like soft singing as the gathered women showed their appreciation for Kankuro's words. But Ai could sense it, could feel the daggers in their breath on her neck as they all waited to see her fail. Kankuro was led away by a few other dancers as Ai stood awkwardly, not wanting to meet anyone for fear of their prying questions.

"Ai," the dark haired girl looked up and, avoiding everyone else's eye, saw her sensei stood at an iron table in the courtyard. The table was littered with cups of tea, small biscuits and chocolates, along with books of poetry and the works of the Great Philosophers. Megumi had clearly just finished her breakfast and was beckoning Ai with a stern look. "Come." Megumi looked down at her student through her circular glasses and saw Ai blush a little and lower her gaze as everyone in the courtyard sat in silence and stared at her. She could feel their glares, their smirks, hear their petty comments about how she had not yet managed to seduce the jinchuriki. Ai walked with her head lowered to meet her teacher who said nothing but began to walk into the Kazekage's gardens. Ai followed intently.

The gardens in the palace were exquisite; maintained by botanists or magicians, Ai could not tell for there were plants of which she had never seen before. They offered shade and fruit and flowers of all kinds so the girl was sure there must be some magic afoot. The gardens were the only place you found true greenery in Suna and there was even a small, man-made pond. Ai glanced around, breathing deeply to take in the smell of honeysuckle.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, a few paces behind her teacher, with nothing but the birdsong for company, Ai grew restless. She walked a little quicker until she was at Megumi's side and stopped.

"Megumi-sama, I know I am yet to-"

"What kind of tree is this?" Megumi stopped and interrupted her. Without looking at Ai, she held up her hand and pointed to a tree which draped over the pond with pale pink blossoms. Ai looked over quickly but did not register what her teacher wanted from her.

"The Kazekage will not see me!" Ai pleaded desperately but her teacher remained unaffected.

"What tree is this?" Megumi asked again, still looking over at the pond.

"I don't know!" The girl in blue grew impatient with her teacher's lack of attention.

"You do not know?" Megumi turned to her, an eyebrow raised and it was that look that indicated to Ai that she was in now in serious trouble. "A courtesan does not know the name of such a beautiful object?" Ai looked to the floor; she knew what was coming, she was going to be scolded. "You forget yourself, Ai." Megumi stated loudly, dangerously as though daring her student to voice any other childish thoughts. "Try again." Ai sighed and looked over, taking in the delicate way the dark branches twisted and twirled and dipped into the water; causing ripples to spread out over the crystal clear reflection of the sky. She could see a few blossoms break away and dance to safety on the light Suna breeze.

"It is Sakura," Ai said quietly, embarrassed for losing her composure, "a cherry tree." She finished feebly.

"My dearest, Ai," Megumi spoke softly and put a finger under Ai's chin to lift the girl's head so they could look one another, "do I really need to explain to you how important it is that we solidify our relationship with the new Kazekage and council?" Ai blinked up at her, feeling lost.

"He shirks me as though I were the rain," Ai shook her head. "His words burn me like a chilling Winter wind. He is merciless." She bit her lip in frustration.

"Does he intimidate you?" Megumi asked.

"No, I…" The young courtesan faltered and could see from the look on Megumi's face that the teacher had figured it all out. "There is a power in his every movement," Ai explained and began to walk after Megumi as her teacher started to walk again. "I cannot tear myself away from whatever oath he binds me to. I stumble over my words and forget how to breath whenever he's around me-"

"You are infatuated?"

"I…no, I, no!" Megumi smirked as Ai tried to wriggle out of the corner she had put herself in. "I am intimidated by his aggression." She finished, not knowing how to continue.

"Ai," Megumi stated simply, "you _are_ intimidated." Ai inwardly rolled her eyes; was Megumi really going to patronize her? "It is a big task to ask of you. Gaara is a man who possesses infinite virtues; he is of noble blood, he possesses riches, power, he is the most skilled shinobi in this village and the most powerful Kazekage we have ever known. _You_ are beautiful, poised, elegant, intelligent and many men have compared you to the silent, radiant moon." The elder woman spoke as though to herself. "You are faced with this man, this daunting task of seduction and you are young, inexperienced and have a terrible habit of talking back," she smiled as Ai opened her mouth to protest but then shut it quickly. "He has shirked you not once but twice now and I understand what that can do to a dancer's confidence; you feel powerless against him?" Ai did not need to respond; it was all true. That was exactly how she felt. Seduction seemed near-impossible with his hatred of her profession. "It seems as though we have reached a stalemate." Megumi stopped walking and Ai stood beside her, lost in thoughts of how to tip the balance of power in her favor. "You are over thinking things, my dear." Ai shook her head.

"I'm afraid I cannot think at all; I have no idea what it is I need to do to move this relationship further." Ai mumbled.

"You have the skill, Ai, to seduce anyone you wish," Megumi reached out a hand as a cherry blossom floated down to the pair. She caught it in her palm and showed it to Ai, "you have simply lost confidence and that will come once you remember that you are seducing the youngest Kazekage in history; he is just as scared and youthful as you are." As Ai looked at her uncomprehendingly, Megumi tapped the girl's forehead, an affectionate way of showing her she was being naïve. "Gaara is a virgin." Megumi laughed as colour rushed and forced their way from Ai's insides to her skin. All this whole time, Ai had not even thought about it! The way he spoke, the way he held himself you would think it were the last thing on his mind! "The Kazekage is fighting a losing battle; caught between his desire for you and his distrust of dancers." Megumi leant in as Ai peered at the flower in her hand, a smile spreading across the young girl's face. "He is trying to resist the pull of the moon," the wiser courtesan smiled, "surely she will put up a fight to conquer this rebellion?" Her face aglow with recharged confidence, Ai smiled and blew the cherry blossom from Megumi's hand.

"I shall."


	6. His First Kiss: Unto the Moonrise

_**Chapter 6**_

_**His First Kiss/Unto the Moonrise**_

"The Great Philosophers fall into four categories; the most modern of which Sunagakure takes as its Political Philosophy…" Gaara nodded as his tutor, Hana-sama, an elder female teacher of the village, continued to recite her lesson. They were sat on cushions that had been laid out by servants, on the Kazekage's balcony. The balcony was more like a veranda; a huge wooden square that hung over the courtyard of the palace as the Kazekage's quarters were on the fifth floor. The palace was shaped like a rectangle with the middle occupied by courtyards that housed the gardens. The gardens were lined with the four walls of the palace. Each floor had an open walkway so that members of the council, the Kazekage's family and guests, could walk out, on each floor, to view the gardens below. The sun was at its highest point in the sky and shone down onto the palace, illuminating everything with a golden light and unforgiving heat. The smell of flowers drifted up to the teacher and student as they sat, both enduring the heat.

It was the usual setting for Gaara's lessons that did not pertain to shinobi skills; it was here that he learnt how to be a Kage. Hana-sama taught him most of the things he did not learn as a shinobi: politics, economics, history…the list seemed to go on forever and Gaara, known for not being the most patient man, was growing restless. He found the white Kazekage robe a little suffocating as it had a high neck that twisted around him. At least he didn't have to wear the hat in his private quarters.

The young Kazekage liked to have his lessons here as he found his office stuffy at this time of the day; the breeze of Suna comforted and consoled him as he sat, bored, listening to his aged teacher rattle on about something from a thousand years ago. Tea was served before the lesson began and Gaara found himself idly swirling the contents of his cup, wondering if it would be possible to drown himself in the contents.

"It was known as the enlightenment period…" she continued to recite in front of him, as though from a book and Gaara, who was nodding along with her monotonous banter, spied something unusual in the distance. As inconspicuously as possible, he stole a glance over at the balcony that lined the Northern side of the palace. It looked as though he were glancing at Hana's shoulder but Gaara was intrigued by what was going on behind her; one floor below, on the walkway, Temari had been stopped by a gardener who looked thunderous.

"Wretched thief!" The gardener, a short and feeble looking man, shouted at her and, as Temari had only been innocently walking to the library, she raised an eyebrow at him with a look that could kill. Gaara's elder sister spoke but he could not hear her for the distance. The gardener, on the other hand, let his frustration determine the volume at which he spoke. "Starlight came down to Earth and tricked me!" He shouted at the blonde shinobi who folded her arms; so he was not accusing her of thievery. "She convinced me that I did not have tsubaki _(A/N: Red camellia flower) _growing in the greenhouse and when I turned to show her she stole a birdcage and ran into the palace." Gaara looked away quickly to Hana-sama and nodded again, to maintain the illusion of focus, before he let his eyes flit back to the commotion. While Temari was trying to calm the gardener down, Gaara caught sight of starlight running along the balcony on the floor directly below the pair.

Ai was in blue, she ran through the palace as though it were a fairground, dodging diplomats and running through groups of women who cursed her name as she scattered them in fear. Directly below Temari and the gardener she stopped and Gaara could see her laughing as the walkway emptied. Her veil had fallen from her head and been lost somewhere during the chase but he knew it was her; she glittered in the Suna sun and her smile lit up the world.

"Hey, where did she go?!" Ai jumped and Gaara, his heart beating a little faster, watched in a confusing mix of bewilderment and respect as the girl glanced around her, wondering where to hide from the oncoming guard that were chasing her. All over a birdcage? Gaara wondered what on Earth she wanted with it and why on Earth the gardener had called the guards over such a petty thing.

"…if we look back through time over each Kazeage's position…" Hana-sama, oblivious to the world around her, did not notice that the Kazekage was paying no attention to her and sat, transfixed, at the scene unfolding on the balconies beyond them.

Temari and the gardener had also heard the guards' shouts and proceeded to make their way to the lower balcony where Ai was. The courtesan was being cornered; the guards were coming from the right and Temari and the gardener were coming from the left. There were no doors to go through, no way down; she was doomed. Gaara watched Ai as she looked around for somewhere to run or hide before he did something he could not explain.

The courtesan glanced down each side of the corridor as she heard hurried footsteps coming from either side; what to do? What to do? All this over a couple of birds? Ai heard a twig snap behind her and turned to the railing of the balcony quickly, ready with excuses for her actions. What she saw made her stop for a moment. A twig, from the rose bush that climbed the pillars of the palace, had indeed snapped but the cause of the break was a strange sight. A mass of sand, like a cloud, hovered in the air beyond the balcony as though beckoning her. Blue eyes narrowed on it as she took a few tentative steps towards the edge of the balcony. Ai thought for a moment before she heard the voices of Temari and the gardener approaching and, without hesitation, she jumped up onto the railing and, with a lot of faith, jumped down onto the cloud of sand. It took a moment for her to adjust her balance but when she did the sand lowered, keeping her out of sight to those on the balcony of the third floor. Ai crouched on the sand behind a pillar, taking in the sweet scent of the roses, unaware that he was watching her.

"If you are inattentive, Gaara-kun, I may leave you to your daydreams of her." Gaara snapped his gaze back to Hana-sama and saw that she had turned her head to see Ai floating on sand a little way behind her.

"Forgive me, Hana-sama," Gaara said and looked down to the tea cup in his hands. Hana turned back to the Kazekage and smirked.

"I will suspend our lesson for today, Kazekage," she spoke in a croaky, ancient voice and stood, Gaara stood out of respect to see her out. "I hope tomorrow will be less full of distraction."

"Yes. Sorry." The red headed shinobi flushed with embarrassment and nodded his thanks to her as she left. He could hear her muttering about "back in her day" as he turned back to see Temari speaking with the gardener and the guards, all stood on the balcony to which Ai had run, wondering where she had disappeared to. The gardener was waving his hands in the air dramatically and Gaara could see Ai, hidden from their view, silently laughing into her hands. The group on the balcony dispersed and soon it was empty.

Without even moving, without even being consciously aware of it, Gaara made the sand that Ai was stood on, move higher to let her slip back onto the veranda. The Kazekage looked on, trying denying this strange new feeling that felt as though it was slipping itself into his bloodstream. As Ai landed softly on the veranda, she turned to the sand.

The girl being chased as starlight looked around for the person who was helping her but her blue eyes could not find his. She took a step towards the sand and lifted her left hand to her mouth and slowly, as Gaara watched with baited breath, she bowed her head, closed her eyes and pushed her lips against a ring on her finger. In thanks, she took the ring off her hand and placed it on top of the sand. With another quick glance up at the heavens, as though he might be there, she smiled and walked away.

* * *

Hours had passed since the incident on the palace balconies and Gaara could not shake it from his mind. Why was it, wherever Ai went, chaos seemed to followed after? It baffled him that he cared so much, that he wanted to know why she would run for a couple of birds. Why would the girl bother to steal? Why did she act with no consent to consequences? It ate at him; why did he care so much?! It was driving him mad with curiosity. He had not seen her for days and had been trying to forget her but somehow she managed to tumble back into his life. Her presence was a nuisance, a distraction; she acted so bizarrely, so out of whim and heart that he, bound by the role given to him at birth, could not understand her.

The ring she had placed on the sand now sat, mocking him with its brilliance, on his desk. Sparkling in the light of a dying sun, it was every inch of her; beautiful and delicate, annoyingly unlike him or anything he knew to be wonderful. It was a plain silver band with a large, rectangular, blue stone, an aquamarine according to Temari who had asked about it earlier. He shot it a look of distaste. Why had she given it to the sand?

Gaara reached out a hand and picked up the ring. Her fingers were so slender, the shinobi observed as he stroked the cold metal of the band. Why did she act the way she did? So careless, so reckless, so charming and aloof! She reminded him a little of his friend, Uzumaki Naruto, the Konoha shinobi; he too had a care-free nature but a fierce heart. Gaara had caught a little glimpse of that fire in Ai a few days ago. What was it about her that stirred his curiosity? Turning the ring so he could see the stone, he let his thumb brush the light blue gem that shone in his hands. Her soft lips had pushed against the gem in such a delicate, sacrificial manner, as though she were giving up a part of herself to him-

"Ah!" Gaara dropped the ring as though it burned him. It was not only his curiosity that was stirring; at the thought of her, Shukaku was growing restless as though waking to a bloodlust. The Kazekage propped his elbows onto the desk and, with his hands clasped, pushed his lips against his fingers. He closed his eyes thought for a little while about what he should do but one thing was clear: he had to be rid of her. The door opened and one of his students, Matsuri, walked in.

"Gaara-sam-"

"There is a girl residing in the palace as a guest, her name is Ai; bring her to me." Gaara did not open his eyes so he did not see the look that struck Matsuri's face. The Kazekage had never spoken to her so abruptly, never been so lost in thoughts unknown, never asked for the presence of another woman.

"Y-yes, Sir!" Matsuri bowed and left the room, leaving Gaara to think quickly about his plan of action. He sat back and squared his shoulders; she was not going to win this time. He placed the ring in the pocket of his shirt and waited. Within moments, there was a knock at the door. The Kazekage took a breath.

"Enter," he commanded. The door opened and Ai appeared as a silhouette at his door before walking into what was left of the sunlight in his office. She had her gaze lowered, her light blue veil placed back neatly on her head; looking innocent and dream-like. The door shut behind her and the pair waited in silence.

"You asked for me, Kazekage?" She paused and Gaara took a breath, aware of how he changed in her presence; he felt his commanding nature slipping away for she stood so defiantly, as though she knew exactly what he had called her for. He stood his ground, keeping a close guard on his emotions; he had not let himself get lost in a storm of emotion in nearly two years and if he failed to maintain a calm nature, he had no idea what Shukaku might do.

"What happened today?" Her electric-blue eyes flicked up to him.

"It seems someone saved me from a lot of trouble," Ai smirked. He sighed.

"What happened with the gardener?" It was Ai's turn to sigh. She huffed and walked over to the window to watch the sunset, twiddling the end of her veil with her fingers.

"He had caged two songbirds."

"Hardly a reason to steal." The Kazekage commented and Ai inwardly rolled her eyes; that Kazekage-tone, so calm and unyielding, made her want to wake up the Gaara she had heard about.

"What did I steal, Kazekage?" She turned to Gaara with a pleading look, her eyes glittering. "Whose right is it to command a bird to fly? To command them to sing?" She walked over to the desk and stood before him, "I gave them back what was taken from them; I gave them freedom." The Kazekage said nothing and Ai shot him a look of impatience. "If you accuse me of doing wrong then you are condemning yourself."

"How so?"

"Was it not you, Kazekage, who saved me from my comeuppance?" She smirked as he remained silent. "Not every shinobi in Sunagakure can control sand with such _effortless_ attention." She spoke the last statement in a sultry, girlish manner but when Gaara looked her straight in the eye and she seemed to falter. His gaze was merciless; every glance he gave her seemed to shoot straight through her.

"Regardless of my involvement," Gaara spoke in the most diplomatic tone he could master, "you stole from the Kazekage's palace." He stood from the desk and Ai's face turned to a look of confusion and amusement; was he about to punish her? "Guests have a certain protocol they must follow- what?" Ai had started to laugh; she put a hand up to her mouth and giggled before regaining her usual manner and appraising the Kazekage.

"Coward." Gaara jerked as Ai gave him a mocking look of disbelief; the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile. His eyes widened before narrowing on the insolent girl.

"What did you say?" Both had dropped their "Kazkeage" and "courtesan" tones. Seeing each other for what they really were; hating each other for their lack of integrity. And suddenly, seduction was forgotten, as was punishment and it was back to adolescent bickering.

"A coward." Ai put her hands on her hips and held her head high. "You would rather punish me and be rid of me than really face your fear." Ai raised her voice and Gaara retaliated with equal distaste:

"What is it that I am supposed to fear?" He asked her loudly.

"The real reason behind why it was you helped me."

"I helped you to save me the paperwork-"

"Paperwork?!" Ai laughed again and looked away from him. "Forgive my insolence, Kazekage, but you are naïve even to the ways of your own heart." Gaara walked around his desk and stood opposite her, a growl she had never heard before entered his voice.

"How dare y-"

"You're bored." She interrupted with an accusation that seemed to catch the Kazekage off-guard. Gaara took a step away from her, the growl in his voice now gone.

"What?"

"What is it you do every day besides teach or be taught? Attend meetings or dinners?" Ai scoffed. "When are you ever yourself?" His lack of response irritated her and she raised her voice again. "The only time I ever see you act on your own will is when you are arguing with me!"

"That's not true!" Gaara raised an accusatory finger at her and Ai smiled mockingly.

"Oh sorry," she commented "did someone tell you to point at another person in the room or do you actually have the capacity for self-determination?" Gaara shook his head with a look of utter incomprehension. "Do you even partake in anything remotely ninja-orientated or has the lure of bureaucracy got the better of you?"

"You are insufferable!" He shouted at her.

"And you are grateful for the intrusion!" She retaliated. "The stars still move, Kazekage, around a greater purpose. They are not stationary. Perhaps if you upheld similar initiative, we would not find ourselves at each other's throats whenever you decide you want to remember what it's like to feel alive!" She turned away from him with a shake of her head and walked a few feet away. This Kazekage was nothing more than a nineteen year old shinobi with an over-inflated ego.

Gaara needed to regain control of the situation. He was growing frustrated with her fallacious accusations; speaking to her for a moment longer was going to make him boil over. He could feel, in every breath he took, Shukaku's purr as he slept, slowly rising to Gaara's consciousness. He looked across to Ai, her back to him, her sky-blue veil hiding her from him. Did she really think he was so meek?

"You honestly think I do nothing for myself?" He spoke softly, without thinking, knowing he should end the conversation and tell her to leave the palace for good but he found he could not tear himself away from her. She turned back as he spoke; his voice was soft. "Do you know how often my council falls into pandemonium because they cannot find me?" Ai unfolded her arms, a sense of guilt rising in her stomach. "It's true, Ai, that I follow the rules and regulations that are befitting of a Kazekage. But it is foolish to think that I follow blindly, that I resign myself to a title." Their eyes met.

"Where do you go?" She asked gently.

"None of your concern." He replied. She sighed.

"No more than an idle lie then." Gaara closed his eyes as she spoke.

"You are _insufferable_."

"And you are _unashamedly_ incarcerated." She turned again and walked to the door. "Let us not deny what is happening here," she said as she reached the door. "Try as you might, something has a hold on you, something that cannot give me up." She turned her head and spoke as though he were right next to her. "Call me, whenever you wish to feel alive." The courtesan lifted her hand to open the door.

"Wait, Ai." Her hand hovered in the air.

"What is it, Kazekage?"

"Come here." Ai heard him opening a window and turned to see he had removed the white outer-layer of his Kazekage uniform to reveal his casual clothes underneath; the long, red, cloak-like shirt and dark trousers. He reached over to his gourd that was placed beside his desk and secured it on his back with a long leather strap. He pushed the window open a little further and looked over to her. "Come." He said again and Ai, her face adorned with a look of intrigue, walked over to him. She peered out of the window to see Sunagakure, becoming sleepy and still in the sunset hours as a cloud of sand began to form before the window. "Get on." Gaara instructed her and, with a sideways glance at him, she lifted her dress, balanced herself on the windowsill and jumped onto the sand.

It was frightening and disorienting; being up so high with nothing but sand beneath your feet. Ai looked out to the village as lights began to flicker on in homes of civilians and lanterns lining the pavements were lit.

"Ah," she gasped as the sand lowered slightly when the Kazekage came to stand beside her on the sand. The quietness of the village, the vast emptiness of the world before them, made all previous frustrations forgotten. "Where are we going?" Ai asked and looked up at him. He did not look to her.

"A place of solitude." He informed her.

"Where is that?" He did not respond as Ai gasped and grabbed his arm when the sand jerked forwards to move. She kept her hand there, maintaining her balance as they began to move off. Eventually the village began to grow smaller in the distance, the lights of homes flickering and glittering as they ascended, further into the unknown parts of the world.

Ai could not help but smile; what an invigorating sense of freedom, to feel the winds of the desert glide past you as your soared through the darkening sky. She held on to the Kazekage's arm and looked around them, flitting from one side of the sand to the other, marveling at the world, smiling at the disappearing towns beneath them.

All the while Gaara watched her, his eyes never left her face; she was innocent and simple and that gave him a feeling he had very rarely experienced. It filled him with warmth to watch her smile and point out to places she knew and wanted to know. Her sense of adventure, her love of freedom, spoke to something within him that he never thought he could ever know.

Suddenly Ai spun around at the sound of it. Crashing into the Earth, the majestic ocean lay before them, dark and spinning, it called to her. As Gaara's sand met the shore, Ai ran out into the night, into the beckoning sea. The horizon twinkled with lights of far off cities and it was that time of night, before the moonrise, when the sky is dark but there is enough light of the dying sun, to see the beauty of the world around you.

The Kazekage did not move from where his sand rested but watched the dancer as she kicked off her shoes, lifted her dress and ran into the sea. Ai may have even been shouting something into the looming darkness, he could not tell as she ran. Upon entering the water she stopped to let it lap over her feet and soothe her as she tilted her head back to gaze and the stars. The sea was gentle and calm, the only sound was the movement of the waves as they cascaded around her. She turned back to him.

Gaara stood watching her, his face calm, his arms folded. In the hours before the moonrise his skin looked as though it were porcelain. She smiled; Gaara was painfully handsome. Everything he did, the way he spoke, the mannerisms he had, his silence, his stare, his gait, his power, his wonderfully defined body, held enough majesty to rival even the ocean. Lifting her dress, she walked out of the water towards him.

"I watch the sun set here sometimes," Gaara spoke suddenly as she approached. She stood a few feet from him and for a moment, seemed paralyzed before she began to flit around again. She turned from him and he watched in silence as she looked around them.

"But," Ai glanced around, "where is the moon?" He took a step to stand beside her.

"I hear she walks the Earth now." Her eyes widened as he spoke and she looked over to him. He stared at her as the world stood still; she was effortlessly endearing and Gaara could not keep his guard up anymore. He could not understand the look on her face, was she curious or happy, it seemed to be a mixture of both. She took a step towards him and he unfolded his arms in surprise. Ai noticed him recoil and slowed down a little. She walked up to him, her eyes never leaving his face, and placed her hands on his chest.

Ai went up onto the tips of her toes and leant in, she kept her eyes locked with his, feeling the rising and falling of his chest as his breathing deepened. She gave him a last look of reassurance for he seemed to be scared or nervous, before she closed her eyes and pushed her lips softly to the corner of his mouth.

The young Kazekage stood with his arms by his side, the tips of his fingers tingling, as a sensation of want began to course through him; the feel of her was unlike anything he had ever known. Ai was so soft and gentle. She moved away from him and opened her eyes. He was looking down at her with an expression of nervous excitement. Had he kept his eyes open? And he hadn't pulled her into embrace either. She did not find it humorous but sweet; did this boy not know how to love?

On the shore, at the edge of the world, Ai and Gaara stood in twilight, willing the other to show them what they wanted.

"Close your eyes," Ai whispered and leant in to his ear. Gaara did as told, "put your hands on me, Gaara." At the sound of this phrase, Ai felt Gaara's gentle manner leave them for a moment as he roughly placed his hands on her hips before following the contour of her body to her waist. "What do you feel?" She murmured and put the arches of her lips against his. The Kazekage let out a shuddering breath and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her into embrace.

"Alive." He growled before instinct took over and Gaara closed what space there was between their lips and pushed back against her with such torturing gentleness that Ai could feel herself succumbing to his charms. As she felt him explore her, feel her, want her, she tried hard to calm the desire rising in her. Unexpectedly, she pushed herself away from him.

Gaara opened his eyes, shook his head defiantly and with a hungry look that made her melt, advanced on her once more. She kept her hand against his chest to stop him moving closer and Gaara had half a mind to push her arm away pull her into him again but the look on her face made him stop. Ai looked at him with a small smile and with almost loving, affectionate eyes. It was a look that would make men follow her to the edge of the Earth and so the Kazekage obeyed, wanting to see what the mischievous glint in her eye was foretelling.

Ai let her hand travel down his chest, as she lowered herself to her knees; eventually her hand gripped his belt buckle. The sight of her, kneeling, submissive, sacrificial almost, her lips pouting and glistening from their kiss, was waking something up inside of him. He shook his head at her.

"No Ai, don't kneel." He begged her, wondering what was happening inside of him, what this ocean of emotion was that was flooding him. The girl tilted her head up to him.

"Why not?" She asked but Gaara's vision was beginning to blur. Something was happening, something was building up inside of him.

"I will frighten you." He pleaded with all his will for her to get up but something was taking over his body, calling out for her. Shukaku was waking up.

"Frighten me then." She whispered but Gaara already was losing control. He was being taken over by the bloodlust. Shukaku could smell her sickly sweet perfume, it was filling Gaara's head. The Kazekage fell to his knees and shut his eyes to shut out the vision of her, to try and regain control. "Kazekage, what's the matter?" Ai's voice was no longer seductive but panic-stricken.

"Get away from me!" He shouted at her and put his hands on his ears to rid himself of Shukaku's murmuring. He thrashed his head from side to side, trying to get Shukaku out of his mind, trying to stop Ai from getting closer but the girl was too concerned for him to worry about her safety. She put a hand on the side of Gaara's face as he thrashed and tried to calm the panic that was rising inside of her.

"Gaara!" She shouted for even the ocean started to tumble and swirl and swallow them in the roaring sounds of the waves as they thrashed in the night. Sand on the shore began to float up into the air and spin around them. The world was humming and crashing as the Kazekage, on his knees, begged Shukaku to leave him alone and pleaded with Ai to do as he said and get away from him.

In a moment, everything stopped. Gaara stopped moving, the ocean stilled and the sand floated to the ground again. Ai glanced around as everything descended into tranquility. The night breeze seemed to soothe the Kazekage who, with his eyes still closed, took a breath. Ai placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Kazekage?" She asked softly but she could still sense, something was wrong. There was something menacing in the silent way he held himself.

"You should have run." Gaara murmured and opened his eyes. Ai screamed as fear shook her; the person looking back at her was no longer the Kazekage she knew. She was staring into the eyes of a demon.


	7. The Demon in Him

_**Chapter 7**_

_**The Demon in Him**_

Ai was paralyzed with fear as she knelt before what used to be the Kazekage. His calm green eyes were no longer there; instead she found that she could not tear her gaze away from the yellowing, manic eyes that swallowed her whole. The whites of his eyes had turned black as the night around them and the corner of his lips curved to a smirk. Ai could hear the growl, the purr, of Shukaku on the sea breeze.

The courtesan was not even aware that she had stopped breathing. Her bottom lip trembled as Gaara raised a hand slowly to place the tips of his fingers on her temple. A bolt of electricity seemed to pass between them as the Kazekage pushed his fingertips against her head so she could feel his nails on her soft, delicate skin. She winced as he dragged his nails from her forehead, down her face and across her cheek before they found her lips. Gently, watching her skin blush under his touch, Gaara's nails scraped across her lips, letting his thumb pull down her quivering bottom lip to open her mouth.

The biju inside the Kazekage shivered, as did what was left of Gaara, when he saw her lips open for him. She was entirely at his mercy and it was the fear in her, the innocence, the untouchable beauty, that rendered her unbearably seductive to them both. He placed his fingers beneath her chin and tilted Ai's face to his.

The dancer complied without hesitation for it was not only her fear that kept her rooted to the spot; the way he touched her, the way he, Shukaku, looked at her, made her believe she could still feel Gaara in there somewhere, fighting to be heard. Her desire to see him again, the boy she had first kissed, took her over and she let the monster kiss her.

Gaara liked how she did not move; she kept her mouth open as he placed a kiss on her bottom lip. Shukaku shuddered; her lips were soft, plump and red, he could smell the blood in her, he could taste the fear in the warmth of her mouth. Gaara had kept his eyes open, not out of inexperience, but out of the need to see what he did to her. Ai had her eyes closed and her face held a pained expression as though denying to herself what she really wanted. He liked it. The Kazekage closed his eyes, placed his hands on either side of her face and lowered himself onto her once more.

There was something so different in the way he kissed; something fluid, lustful and commanding surged through Gaara and when he opened his mouth to taste her a little more, Ai gasped and against her will, as though under some spell, began to return the affection. She could feel herself weakening for him as the shinobi ran his tongue along her lips and Ai could hear a deep rumble, a growl, issue from him. He withdrew from their kiss and they opened their eyes.

What Shukaku saw caught him unawares; there was something in her eyes that called out for Gaara. Some emotion he did not understand or know was pulling Gaara out of the darkness. Her big blue eyes were filling up with...was it sadness, grief? Gaara needed to see her, to ask her what that look was, why she looked at _him _that way. His vision was blurring again, the demon was clawing at his consciousness in a desperate bid to remain in control. The Kazekage swayed as if faint and closed his eyes.

"Kazekage!" Ai let out a gasp of relief for when Gaara opened his eyes again they were back to those piercing opals that she knew. He took her face in his hands and leant down to rest his forehead against hers; breathing heavily from the effort it took to calm Shukaku down to the depths of his subconscious.

"Ai," he whispered, "I cannot keep Shukaku at bay for long; return to the palace and tell them where I am-"

"I will not leave y- ah!" Gaara had grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled so hard her eyes began to water. Her head was being pulled back until she was facing the stars, tears streaming from her glittering eyes. Gaara took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his eyes away from her face; Shukaku was thunderous, another look at her could mean the end of them both.

"Do as I say." In an instant Gaara let go of her hair and with the other hand summoned the sand beneath her to move. Ai was thrown off balance as she brought her head back to face him but was lifted into the air and was forced to get onto all fours to look over the edge of the sand that was rising above the Earth.

"Gaara!" She held out a hand for him as she was swept away on a cloud of sand and wind, up into the night. Ai looked down to him as he became a silhouette on the beach and could see the Kazekage, shouting at his shadow, thrashing on the ground, trying to regain control. She looked around for some way to get to him but she was already too high. As she glanced from side to side she saw shadows move across the beach to meet the Kazekage. Ai looked on in apprehension until she saw one of the shadows move in a familiar manner, using strings at his fingertips to control what looked like another person. Her heart rate slowed; it was Kankuro, the puppet master. A more careful look and Ai could see the other shadows were shinobi. Surely the Kazekage could get Shukaku under control without the need for intervention from the other shinobi? He had managed fine for two years! Gaara had lived with the beast for so long, why, now, was Shukaku restless?

As she swept up into the night, her shoulders fell; Gaara and Shukaku were blended together so intricately it was hard to tell where one ended and where one began. Her fingers brushed her lips and all the way back to the palace her thoughts and wishes for Gaara to be safe, for Shukaku to be controlled, were marred by a more painful question; which one had kissed her?

* * *

The balconies of the palace were looming up ahead as Ai steadied herself on the sand, prepared to jump off at any instant for she could feel the sand loosening beneath her feet; its pace was becoming sluggish and jarred. As the Kazekage began to fade away for a demon, his control on the sand also began to weaken. In small trickles, the glittering mass Ai was stood on began to crumble. She prepared to fall from the sky as the sand approached a lower floor of the palace and just as the girl hopped on to the balcony, the sand crashed into the railing and fell into the courtyard.

Ai glanced from side to side, listening for any commotion. It was the middle of the night; no lights were on in the palace, there was no one around. She spun around to look over the balcony but the courtyard was empty. After a moment, she turned back to the palace as she heard a door behind her open and light poured itself into the night. She shielded her eyes and in the same moment, Ai heard shouts from below; they were calling for medic ninja and Palace officials.

"Ai?" She lowered her arm from in front of her face and, as her eyes adjusted, she caught sight of Megumi standing in the doorway before her. "Speak, child," the teacher spoke comfortingly, "what is it that has you so afflicted?" But Ai could not speak, she could not think. She had to get to him. "Why is your dress wet?" But Ai was already running through the palace. They would take Gaara to the Sick Bay to be monitored, surely. So the courtesan ran. "Ai!" She heard her teacher call after her but did not turn back. She kept running and twirling and spinning through the palace to find him.

Ai suddenly found herself stood in the corridor that lead to the Sick Bay; beyond this point was shinobi territory. It was a world that courtesans sought to control from a distance, indeed, empires were built on the whispers of courtesans into the ears of enchanted Kage. It was not a world that they were welcomed into so openly; courtesans were seen in secret, in the reflection of water, in starlight. They never acted on their own will, nor did they actively seek the company of shinobi; Ai would defy everything the Tea House and the Palace stood for, if she went through the doors.

She took a moment to compose herself, fixing her veil, wiping her eyes; there was no mirror around to see how she really looked but she found she did not care. The Sick Bay was located in the basement of the Palace and as she approached the doors tentatively, she saw people rushing in and out, turning on lights, waking up the inhabitants of the Palace. Ai did not hesitate; she walked straight through the doors leading to the hospital beds.

The room was plunged in that fluorescent, unforgiving light and the sickly smell of hospital disinfectant lingered in the air. The bright white light shone on the busy room; everyone was too engrossed in the chaos to ask Ai what she was doing there. As her eyes scanned the scene she saw Kankuro, stood at the other end of the room, talking to an older shinobi, probably a medic. Ai moved forwards but had to narrowly dodge a group of shinobi carrying scrolls and candles. She glided through the chaotic ward cautiously, unnoticed.

"…The Kazekage has not had to control the Biju with such strength for over a year now." She could hear, as she got closer, what the older man was telling Kankuro. "His defenses were down and something triggered Shukaku to wake-" Kankuro and the fellow shinobi broke conversation to look down as someone on the bed beside them stirred. Her eyes caught sight of the hand of the person lying down and she moved forwards.

Ai was stopped immediately by someone holding out an arm in front of her. She followed the arm to the body of the person it belonged to. It was the Kazekage's older sister, Temari. The deadly female shinobi had her arms spread out to prevent Ai from getting closer.

The young courtesan, who would usually have held her veil and lowered her gaze, looked on at Temari defiantly. "You aren't allowed anywhere near him, Oiran _(A/N: this is actually the Japanese word for 'courtesan' but, as keen readers will know, we aren't actually dealing with Japanese courtesans. Temari is using a common word to belittle Ai; it is as though she is calling her 'whore' but has too much pride to even say the word directly)_." At the sound of his sister's tone, commanding and malicious, Kankuro noticed what was happening in the middle of the room and took a step forwards. Ai and Temari did not avert their gaze from one another.

"Temari," Kankuro came to stand behind his sister, blocking Gaara from Ai's view, "what's all this about?" He asked politely; Kankuro, known for being the most easy-going of all the siblings, saw no harm in a courtesan coming into shinobi territory. Temari felt otherwise; a woman can be a shinobi, a mother, a doctor, a friend, when she is none, she is nothing. The blonde shinobi held her head high and kept her arms fanned out.

"She was with him when it happened. We can't trust her." Temari said and gave a small smirk of triumph as Ai remained silent. The two women stood there at a deadlock; both acting for different reasons to protect the same man. The room stilled, watching, waiting; knowing that with words Ai could cut Temari down in a moment and with a flick of her wrist Temari could cut Ai into nothingness. The dancer and the fighter stood their ground.

"What is happening here?" A voice, aged and beautiful, spoke out like birdsong into the room. Ai kept her eyes fixed on Temari as Megumi spoke. The elder courtesan arrived in her finery, with other girls of the Tea House, to stand with their fellow dancer.

"Megumi-san," Kankuro began with closing his eyes, smiling and holding up he hands to signal surrender, "there is no need for such animosity between us."

"Indeed, Kankuro," Megumi, dressed in silver, white stones and pearls glistening around her neck and wrists, appraised the young shinobi. "The Tea House and the Palace have an alliance like no other." She was right, Kankuro knew this; the Tea House was the second greatest power in Sunagakure, housing women who knew not only secrets, but how to use them. It was as though two great families were meeting; the courtesans and the members of the palace. Both held significant power in the community and one could not function without the other. The two sides stood, opposing each other, Temari could sense the power the older woman had but was not backing down; she stood for the dignity of the palace. She would be damned to see it ruined by the actions of one childish courtesan.

Baki, one of Gaara's advisors and a close friend to the family of the Kazekage, came to stand beside Temari who was relentless; she held up her arms to prevent Ai even seeing the Gaara. Being much older than the Kazekage's family, Baki knew of the alliance the Tea House had with the Palace and how valuable it was. Wars could be started and ended by just a few whispers from these women; villages fell to their knees because of the control courtesans had over men of power. It was a relationship that was best not to turn sour.

"Baki," Megumi said his name with a voice soft as silk, "we are, all of us, citizens of Sunagakure, are we not?" Baki stood as though to attention.

"Yes, ma'am." He turned to Temari, "Temari-sama, please-"

"Ai…" Everyone jumped as a feeble voice issued from behind Kankuro. After a heartbeat of silence, the puppeteer sighed and took a step back to let the courtesan pass and Temari, after a moment's hesitation, grudgingly lowered her arms. Ai stepped between the two ninja and looked on at their younger brother who lay, eyes closed, brow furrowed, whispering something. Temari looked to the floor, her back to the Kazekage, as everyone else in the room kept their eyes on Ai. The dancer paused between the sand siblings and seemed to be taken aback be the sight of him, alone and in pain, Gaara whispered her name. "…Ai…?" Her heart broke and she ran to him, on her knees, by the bed, she grasped his hand.

"Ga-" She felt the room freeze as though witnessing something blasphemous as she began to say the Kazekage's first name. "Kazekage?" She corrected herself. Gaara relaxed upon hearing her voice; his body was no longer tense and his brow no longer furrowed. Slowly, the Kazekage was able to open his eyes.

Ai swam into his vision, her face worried, biting her lip in suspense and those big blue eyes…those eyes with that look. Ai felt him tugging away from her so she released his hand and watched as he raised it to the side of her face. She closed her eyes and smiled into his palm. He felt warm and comforting as he stroked her face, his eyes blinking slowly as though on the brink of consciousness.

Her smile faded quickly, for she opened her eyes to find his hand slipping down her face. Ai looked across to him quickly to see that sickly, lustful smile that Shukaku had for her and within an instant Gaara sat bolt upright with a hand wrapped around her throat.

"Gaara!" Kankuro cried out as the Kazekage held Ai's throat with increasing pressure. The room erupted into chaos as shinobi and medics ran over to Ai. In a blur of colour and commotion, Ai felt Gaara release her throat and she tumbled backwards. She stood quickly to see the Kazekage writhing as though in pain whilst another shinobi took out what Ai guessed was a sealing scroll.

"Get her out of here!" Temari shouted at some ninja who took Ai by the arm and escorted her, dragged her, from the room.

"No, no listen to me!" Ai screamed and tried to free herself from the shinobi's grip. "He wasn't hurting me!" No one was paying her any attention. "It didn't hurt m-" Ai stopped as she caught the look on Megumi's face. The courtesans had all turned to follow her from the room and her teacher was fuming with anger; Ai was forgetting herself, her role, her place, her value. Ai quietened and let the shinobi drag her away; she looked past the following entourage of dancer to see Gaara shuddering and muttering in the harsh hospital lighting. Ai tried to protest; when Gaara had held her throat he had not inflicted any pain. She could see in his eyes the battle between Gaara and the beast. He had control. The Kazekage did not hurt her. The ninja let go of Ai once she was out of the room and without thinking she tried to re-enter but Megumi grabbed her arm, she turned to her teacher.

"I have to tell them; Gaara did not cause me any harm-"

"Do not forget yourself, Ai." Megumi commanded and Ai, the fire fading from her as she saw the cold, dead look in Megumi's eyes. "You are first and foremost a courtesan of the Tea House; do not treat shinobi as though they are your kin." Ai was about to retaliate but she saw the way everyone outside the room was looking at her. They had eyebrows raised, looks of panic and worry; they were looking at her as though she were mad. Ai resigned herself to being taken back to her quarters.

* * *

An hour or so later, the shinobi of Sunagakure had managed to get the beast under control through the use of a sealing scroll. Those closest to the Kazekage now remained at his bedside; Baki, Kankuro and a thunderous Temari. Kankuro placed an arm around his sister who shrugged him away before going to Gaara's side and placing a cloth in a small bowl of water and patting it on his forehead. Her little brother winced under the cold feel of the cloth and she noticed, as she looked him up and down, that Gaara's hand, clenched into a tight fist, had a small trickle of blood escaping between his fingers. When did he cut himself? How did anything cut through his armor of sand?

"Baki." She commanded.

"I see it." Her teacher replied before going to Gaara's side. The three gathered ninja looked on in curiosity as the eldest lifted the Kazekage's hand to see where the cut was but it seemed Gaara was clutching onto something in his hand. Without a second thought, Kankuro placed chakra strings on Gaara's finger tips and prised his hand open. Small trickles of blood left the Kazekage's hand to reveal, a shimmering blue stone. In fact, it was a ring.


	8. Lust

_**Chapter 8**_

**_Lust_**

_Home._

It was a word Ai had no use for, for she never knew "home". Orphaned at a young age and adopted by the Tea House; hundreds of women became her mother, for moments, for days, never forever. She was raised in these glass walls, on these marble floors she learnt how to walk, how to dance, how to seduce with her gait. Within these rooms, she had learnt how to talk, how to recite poetry, how to sing like the skylark. Everything she was, was because of this place, the Tea House; it defined her and it was, as much as she could not understand the term, _home_.

She even had her own room here, her own fountain room, her own balcony. Was any of it…_hers_? Did anything really belong to her? Clothes, jewelry, books that she had been given all disappeared when they had served their purpose; she never wore the same dress twice, nor the same gems and she never needed to read a book twice. As a commodity herself, as an object of value, to be exchanged and sold, how could she ever own anything?

The young courtesan sat now, on her swing that hung in her balcony. Knees drawn up to her chest, dressed in a simple white nightshirt that came to just above her knees with plain silver anklets tied to her feet for she could not be without them. She had not worn a veil on her head in days; what was the need? No makeup, which was unusual practice considering that at the palace she had had to wear it every day.

But she was not at the palace, she was back, alone and silent, on her swing, letting the breeze of Sunagakure gently rock her back and forth in the light of the sunrise.

The heat of the desert was filling the air around her but it felt so far away. Ever since leaving the palace, everything she experienced seemed distant; conversations sounded like the last echo in a valley, colour faded and surrendered to monochrome, emotions, once a deep ocean of swirling chaos, now felt like the irritating drip of a tap in a nearby room.

Miko, her friend, along with other girls of the Tea House, had come to her room yesterday evening and, in an attempt to alleviate her melancholy, they had steamed her hair with fragrance of the jasmine flower. She could smell it now, the blossom jasmine on the wind and she frowned with remembrance; the dancers had sat Ai at her ancient, glass dressing table and ran a brush through her long silken hair. They had talked and sang around her as she remained quiet, staring into nothingness. She had not even noticed Miko kiss her head and say goodnight, or the other girls giggle and ask her how Gaara was as a lover.

At the thought of him, Ai shut her eyes tightly; she wanted to be rid of him. That wretched, _wretched, _boy! He had a hold on her like none she had ever known; Ai could think of nothing but the beauty of his face, the caress of his voice, the lick of heat that flickered inside of her when they had kissed.

"No!" She shouted, held her legs tight to her chest and buried her face into her knees. "Leave me alone." She whispered as she rocked, "leave me alone."

Days without him were long, they had passed with moonless nights and she had survived through them on heavy sighs. What had happened that night, the night she kissed the Kazekage, had exhausted and terrified her. The girl was put through severe emotional and physical stress, more than her sensei had anticipated and so, in what Megumi thought was an act of kindness, she had forbidden Ai from entering the palace and from seeing the Kazekage again.

Megumi had no idea what was going on inside the girl's head for even Ai could not understand it. She tore at Gaara when he was around her, like a child pinching and pulling at the hair of another, she teased him and complained about him and challenged him. So why on Earth had Ai taken their separation with such vivacious heartbreak? One moment Ai was screaming not to be in the same room as the young Kazekage and the next moment she was screaming at those who pulled them apart.

Teacher and student had not spoken in days because of this. Because of what happened that night.

_~Flashback: The moments following Ai being escorted out of the sickbay~ _

The ninja let go of Ai once she was out of the room and, without thinking, she tried to re-enter but Megumi grabbed her arm, she turned to her teacher.

"I have to tell them that the Kazekage did not cause me any harm-"

"Do not forget yourself, Ai." Megumi commanded and spoke louder when Ai opened her mouth to retaliate; "you are first and foremost a courtesan of the Tea House; do not treat shinobi as though they are your kin." Megumi knew Ai held nothing but disdain for authority that was grounded simply in tradition; the regulations put in place by the treatise between the courtesans and the shinobi were meaningless to her. Like a sea of endless commands and rules; Ai felt swallowed by her ties to the courtesans; she lowered her gaze to the floor and began breathing heavily. "Ai?" Megumi spoke with all the authority an elder courtesan had. Slowly, Ai raised her head to face her teacher.

Her usually serene and delicate face was screwed up in frustration and her eyes flashed red. She opened her mouth to speak but as she glanced around she saw the way everyone outside the room was looking at her. They had eyebrows raised, looks of panic and worry; they were looking at her as though she were mad. "Take a moment, my dear." Megumi spoke softly and put a hand on Ai's shoulder. Ai, still frustrated, looked back at the older woman in alarm; why had she suddenly changed her tone? "Close your eyes, take a breath." Her teacher instructed and Ai rolled her eyes; Megumi's old trick for making her calm down. Her sensei would often employ this tactic when Ai was a child and began to throw tantrums. It usually worked but as a result, Ai's childhood temper was soon replaced by a bad habit of talking back.

In spite of her indignation, Ai complied begrudgingly, if only to make the stares stop. As her eyes closed, she could already feel herself calming down; the anger of being parted from him began to ebb away and her breathing became shallower. "Come, girls." She heard Megumi say and Ai stood in line with her fellow dancers and began to walk with them.

Their anklets tinkled in unison as they walked, in line, in perfect time, like an army, through the palace. There were whispers and giggles spinning around Ai but she could not hear them nor respond to them, her mind was alive with thoughts of him and the demon and the tension she had created between courtesan and shinobi; she knew she was to pay a dear price for what she had done. Ai had stepped into a world unknown with blind faith that they would see nothing wrong in her actions. She saw no sense in what anyone older than her did; she was trying to protect the Kazekage! And instead they treated her as though she were nothing.

Such was the life of a courtesan. Such was her life.

"Leave us." Ai, who had been so lost in her thoughts, looked up suddenly to find that Megumi had brought them all into what looked like a library; oil lamps offered dim light to see the rows of books and scrolls that littered desks. The other girls around Ai, including her friend Miko, disappeared as quickly as shadows drowned in candlelight. A strong wind howled in the distance, shaking the shutters of the windows in the library, the oil lamps flickered and glittered as Ai glanced around the room in a haze of tired confusion, waiting for the inevitable scolding.

Megumi took a few steps to the middle of the room and turned to her student. "Before I ask you to inform me of what happened on the shore, I will warn you, Ai; do not forget the value you owe to the Tea House. Do not forget that you are a courtesan. If you wish to be a whore, I will happily find you a brothel to retreat to." Startled, Ai shook her head and took a step forwards.

"A whore?" She tilted her head in confusion; "I haven't even slept with him-"

"Haven't?" Megumi interrupted as Ai stood, completely dumfounded about what was happening here. "Apostrophes are reserved for the lay-man, Ai." Her teacher spat out the words as though they were venom. "Punctuation that breaks up prose is the language of whores." Ai actually smiled at hearing this; a sick smile of utter disbelief.

"Apostrophes?!" Ai breathed. "The Kazekage is in pain because of me." She pointed to the door, back in the direction of the hospital and shook her head; why were elders so shamelessly petty? "Gaara is hurting. And yet you wish to give me a lesson in punctuation?" The two women stood opposite each other, the bond they had taken years to nurture was now bending, ready to snap, for they could not understand one another. Both were blinded; the elder by power, societal recognition and culture whilst Ai…well, even she was not sure what it was that had a hold on her. Upon hearing her speak, Megumi almost retreated into herself; she lowered her voice and raised an eyebrow. In a whisper, she voiced a fear:

"What is he to you besides financial and social stability?" As Megumi spoke, Ai grew tired of her old fashioned attitude and stood to her full height.

"He is a human being!" She cried.

"Ai!" Megumi stopped her student with a single utterance of her name as the harsh winds of the desert shattered against the windows. "Fish in dark waters can have no relationship with birds in bright skies." Megumi stood forwards, glittering in silver and diamonds. Ai did not back down, her eyes shone with tears of frustration.

"And yet our planet has some relation to stars, men have some relation to Gods!"

"That is not how women of the Tea House are raised!"

"Then perhaps it is time for revolt!" And with the last word, Ai ran from her teacher for the second time that night; she turned on her heel, pushed the doors of the library open and ran out into the palace.

Ai ran to the palace entrance and looked around for some means of escape. She heard it before she saw it; the shuffling of hooves and her eyes narrowed on a carriage that had drawn up outside the palace gates. She walked over hurriedly, glancing up at the sky where the stars were fading to give way to the daytime. Her frustration did not care for the cold that Sunagakure felt before the dawn; she marched on to the carriage and approached the driver, a stout man who stood to attention, instantly recognizing her as a Tea House dancer.

"Where to, ma'am?" He asked and she stole a quick glance back at the palace steps to see Megumi walk out and stop to watch her. Ai turned back to the driver.

"The Tea House." She instructed and went to the doors of the carriage.

"Payment?" His question called her back and she turned to him. Holding up her wrist, Ai removed a single gold bangle.

"Here," she muttered absent-mindedly and threw it to him. "It is pure gold." She was about to turn away when a hand that did not belong to the driver, caught her bangle as it shot through the air. A man, perhaps a few years older than herself, walked out into the first light of the day and appraised her. Ai shot him a quick glance and knew him immediately; chiseled features, dark hair and eyes, dressed as though ready for a banquet- he was royalty. His eyes were a dark shade of blue and Ai took a fraction of a step back as they looked her up and down.

"Payment is not necessary." He spoke in a husky, tired voice; he had clearly traveled a long while to get to the palace in the middle of the night. "This is my carriage," he informed her and Ai, feeling slightly sheepish that her frustration had blinded her to the point of stealing from the royal, cast her eyes downwards in respect and bowed. "You may take it wherever you please." Ai raised herself up again and let her eyes flick up to him in the last moment; she knew his stare, that hungry, powerful glance that men of royalty have. "Perhaps, your bangle would be best traded for shoes." Cursing herself, Ai realized she had left her shoes on the beach and tried to regain some of the power in the conversation:

"Perhaps, Prince, your gaze could wander elsewhere?" She said sweetly but with a look that could kill.

The man took a few steps forward and smiled; he could see that she was intimidated. Ai felt vulnerable; she did not have her usual flawless appearance, she was not wearing shoes, she had her guard down. The usually quick-witted courtesan was not prepared for a battle of words after the night she had had. He came close to her and held up her bangle for her to retrieve.

"Forgive the trespasses of my eyes, dear one," he whispered; "they are but slaves to your beauty." Ai was at a loss for words; he was…charming. Her world had been thrown into such chaos in these few hours that she had forgotten the pleasure of flirtation. His rugged features, those dark eyes, made her forget her reason for leaving the palace but slowly, she raised a hand to take her bangle back. He leant in a little further and saw the way the girl's eyes glazed over dreamily as he whispered: "payment is taken in the glances I may steal at you." He moved back and Ai retreated with a small smile. A servant opened the carriage door and she took a step towards it. With a nod of her head she thanked him.

"Goodnight, Prince."

The boy, who was indeed a prince, kept his eyes locked on her as she got into his carriage. The servant was about to close the door but the prince commanded him to leave and instead shut the door behind Ai for her. He looked up at that blue eyed girl as though she fascinated him; he had never seen anyone so entirely lovely in all his life. Their eyes did not part from one another.

"Until we meet again." He said and the carriage moved off. He stood, watching, and did not even turn as he heard the footsteps of someone approach him. "How is it moonlight walks the Earth, Megumi-sama?" He asked dreamily. Megumi looked to him and shook her head.

"No, Prince, there walks Vanity."

_~End flashback, Ai's room~_

Ai's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

* * *

_~ The Palace ~_

"You called for me, Gaara-sama?" Looking up, the Kazekage saw Matsuri pop her head around his office door with a look of concern. He inwardly groaned; that pathetic look of pity had been haunting him for days. His family and close friends had taken to tilting their heads at him in worry following him losing control at the beach. How tiresome.

"Yes, come in and sit down." He spoke sternly, remembering the days when losing control meant people would cower in fear; that's how Gaara preferred things. None of this mollycoddling or safeguarding existed when he let himself fall under Shukaku's will. "I wish to talk with you."

"To talk," Matsuri murmured uncertainly and went to sit down in front of his desk, "…with me?" She sat upright, her hands on her knees, her cheeks pink. She glanced up at him quickly and blushed furiously; the young Kazekage had a rogue-like reputation among her class. Handsome and talented, Gaara unwillingly, unknowingly left a trail of broken hearts as he showed no interest in any of them.

"Yes," Matsuri leant forwards in interest; the Kazekage was known for being a very reserved, contemplative young shinobi, an invitation to conversation was the last thing she had expected. Gaara looked her up and down, wondering if he dared speak what was on his mind. She was his first student and the closest stranger he had ever known; one of the first people to acknowledge him as anything but a monster, he trusted her. Gaara lifted a hand to the papers on his desk and Matsuri raised an eyebrow at him as he looked like he was simply reading them. Eventually the Kazekage began to fiddle with the corner of the paper and she could see, from the way his back stiffened and the furrow in his brow that he was regretting his decision to speak with her. But why? What thoughts had he been so lost in these few days? His student was on the edge of her seat, begging to know. "How do you feel," Matsuri leant in further for her teacher was speaking barely above a whisper, "when I look at you?" The young girl jerked in surprise as those shockingly-blue eyes flashed up at her intently. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak but no sound issued from her. The Kazekage leant forwards, noticing her abrupt reaction, "are you alright?" Matsuri nodded slowly, barely blinking. "Would you like some water?" She nodded again as Gaara indicated with a nod to the glass on his desk.

Matsuri reached out and grabbed the glass with both of her hands for fear that under his merciless gaze she would become weak. Gaara sat in silence for a full minute as Matsuri drained the glass in one gulp as though trying to decrease her body temperature; why was it, whenever he spoke to these girls, they would act as though they had never spoken to anyone in their entire lives? It was infuriating. The Kazekage knew full well that a few of his students found him attractive but their behavior truly baffled him sometimes.

"Could you just," Matsuri began after a few deep breaths, "ask me that again?" Perhaps she had misheard.

"How do you feel when I look at you?" The Kazekage asked again and with a little more of a growl in his voice.

"I feel," she glanced up at him and turned red before looking into the glass in her hands, "my heart stopping." Matsuri gave a small smile and pushed her hair behind her ear. Gaara nodded slowly.

"How do you feel when I speak with you?" As the Kazekage asked her this, the girl looked up with a broad smile.

"Honored, Gaara-sama!"

"Do you fear me?" Gaara stood from his desk quickly and Matsuri looked up at him with eyes full of sadness; how could she ever fear him?

"No!" She said defiantly with a shake of her head. As Gaara walked towards her, he saw her shift backwards in her seat as though terrified that he was coming closer to her.

"Would you ever dare challenge me?" He asked and came to stand beside her. Matsuri turned her head to him.

"Never!" She looked up at him and gulped. He was eyeing her with curiosity. With an interest he had never shown in her before. Her eyes glassed over as he leant down to her.

"Matsuri?"

"Yes?" Was she speaking, she didn't know; she could barely feel anything anymore given that the Kazekage was mere inches from her face.

"How do you feel when I touch you?" Gaara put a hand to the side of her face and watched as Matsuri's glazed over expression became redder…and redder…until-

"Gaara-sama!" The shrill squeal that issued from Matsuri made even Shukaku wake up and cover his ears in annoyance. Gaara stood bolt upright and covered his ears with his hands, watching as Matsuri jumped up to him, clasped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. "You're my teacher, it' would be so forbidden-"

"I was only asking a question." Gaara proceeded to fold his arms but his utterance went unnoticed by Matsuri who stood on shaking legs and slowly backed away to the door.

"No, no, no," she muttered, "this is a dream. This cannot be real. I don't even have any make up on…"

"Matsuri-" But upon hearing the Kazekage say her name she squealed again, opened his office door and ran out. Gaara stood, dumbfounded, completely in the dark about what insanity had just occurred, as his brother and sister walked in. Both his siblings raised eyebrows at Matsuri as she ran past them.

"You know, if scaring girls were part of the job description for being a Kazekage, you would be doing very well, little brother." Kankuro smiled as he walked into the room, Temari followed, shaking her head.

"Gaara," she spoke softly, placing her hands on her hips, "the council wants you to know that the welcoming banquet for the royal is tonight." Her younger brother nodded as he took a seat at his desk. "And the Tea House has been invited as per Baki's request." She said through gritted teeth. She watched her brother, aware of how he changed when she said this; Gaara had leant forward to inspect some work but upon hearing this news he clasped his hands together and sat as though in deep contemplation. "We must maintain adequate relations with them; the Tea House knows too much for us to estrange them." He nodded and Temari, who looked like she wanted to say more, stopped herself and showed herself out. Kankuro went to follow her and before he shut the door, he cocked his head back to Gaara.

"Ai will be there." Either the Kazekage did not hear or did not acknowledge what Kankuro had said for Gaara kept his gaze lowered as though he had gone back to work. Kankuro sighed; what a strange and twisting relationship Gaara and Ai had, one moment they were at each other's throats, the next they became misery when pulled apart. He followed Temari into the hallway. Kankuro had heard from other courtesans around the dinner table, as they clung to the arms of his brother's council, about how Ai had shut herself away upon being told she was not allowed near the young Kazekage. They had such a hold over one another and Knakuro could not help but think that, as was inevitable with Gaara, they were all witnessing a love story that would inevitable end in tragedy. Death followed Gaara like a shadow and Kankuro could not bear the thought of his brother falling for someone, only to have it end in heartbreak.

Back in the Kazekage's office, an aquamarine was catching the light of an afternoon sun. Twirling it around in his fingers, Gaara was spirited away to his last moments with her. In truth, the last thing he could remember was her kneeling before him, ready to do something near-sinful. It flooded him with an emotion unlike any he knew; it was almost as though he wanted to feel her shudder and writhe at his mercy, like his enemies years ago. The Kazekage's brow furrowed. No, it wasn't like that dark murderous intent he felt back then. It was different. But how? Gaara could not name it but he knew one thing; he wanted her.

He thought back to barely a few moments ago when Matsuri had been in the room. Gaara knew she wanted him, she had made it clear many times through her blushing and barely-suppressed, overly-enthusiastic support for him as Kazekage. Gaara may come across distant, disinterested and, some had said, naïve, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew Matsuri was a girl, willing to do anything and everything for him, but when he looked at her…it was not the same.

He had asked her how she felt when the Kazekage looked at her….Matsuri had said that her heart stopped. Did he do that to Ai? He could not tell. When he spoke to Ai, he almost, _almost,_ smiled at the thought of it; she looked disinterested, as though she had better things to do. Ai was mischievous and, was the word _flirtatious? _She knew exactly what to do to irritate him, to stir his curiosity, to make him die in the heat of want.

Matsuri did not fear him either. Was she mad? The Kazekage had the power to kill her without even moving. Ai, on the other hand, had the smirk wiped from her face out of fearing him. It was….delicious. Irresistible to him, to the old Gaara, the younger, more devilish, blood-thirsty Gaara who had not emerged for years. She brought out that side of him when she merely bit her bottom lip in worry of what he might do to her.

His student had also said that she would never challenge him. He sighed; all his relationship was with Ai was an irritating battle of wits. The girl practically reveled in unnerving him! As though she were designed solely to rile him; she recited riddles and poetry and quips and rhetoric full of nothing but torment for him….

How did Ai feel when he touched her?

The part of Gaara that was waking up, the part hungry for her, was dying to know this. To hear, from her lips, a gasp, a sigh of gratification. To see her beautiful face screw up in pain and frustration and beg for him was all he wanted.

That moon-like girl had a hold of him. And the Kazekage knew it. He even knew that word that explained this dark, sinful feeling:

_Lust._


	9. The Song that Started the Legend

**Bear in mind, throughout the story, that Ai's name means 'love' so there is usually a double meaning whenever the word 'love' is mentioned.**

**Group of women accompanying Ai in her dance have their lyrics _italicised. _Ai's singing is not italicised. **

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

_**The Song That Started the Legend**_

Ai stood from her swing quickly and, as she approached her desk, she blew out a few candles that had leant her light to study in the nighttime. As with every object in the Tea House, her writing desk was not as it really seemed for she lifted up the table top to reveal a hidden compartment underneath. The desk was aged and enchanting, a pale wood painted white which was now chipping and fading, but the hidden compartment was clean and well-kept for Ai had made good use of it over the years. With a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure there were no prying eyes, she reached out for some books on her shelf that she had stolen from Megumi's private library. Ai placed them in the hidden compartment quickly and shut the unconventional "lid" to her desk.

As she crossed her room, the cold sunshine of the morning was beginning to creep in. The mornings at the Tea House had always seemed slightly grey and dull, for the place truly became alive in the nighttime. Unlike the Palace, this place reveled in chaos when the sun set, for now it seemed empty and asleep. It seemed to fit her mood perfectly.

Upon approaching the door, Ai looked over to her mirror; she wiped her eyes hurriedly and tied up her hair in a loose ponytail before opening the door slowly. She had only opened it a few inches before a hand began to sneak its way through the crack, it was holding onto a porcelain mug.

"A peace offering; warm milk and honey, it was your favorite." A voice spoke softly and, despite herself, Ai walked away. She left the door ajar in an attempt to be as welcoming as she felt and went to sit on her bed. Megumi walked in, revealing that the hand with the mug belonged to her. Ai's sensei looked forlorn. "Still not speaking to me?" Ai avoided Megumi's gaze and looked down to her crocheted blanket. The girl began fiddling with a hole she had made when she tore the blanket in her childhood; picking at the soft cream yarn with her delicate fingers. Megumi went to stand in front of her; "will you at least drink something?" Megumi held out the mug and Ai, knowing that at this stage she was only being childish, took it gratefully but remained in stubborn silence. Her teacher took this to mean that they had reached some common ground and so sat down next to her student. "What is it that has you so afflicted, dear one?" Her teacher reached over and brushed hair from her face as Ai took a sip of the warm drink.

The same question, over and over, for days. Even after they had argued, upon re-entering the Tea House, into the early morning! Megumi had forbidden Ai from meeting with the Kazekage for the foreseeable future; it was dangerous for the both of them. The blue-eyed dancer had refused to accept this and she was not likely to back down any time soon.

A few moments of silence passed before Megumi sighed; "it seems our chirping skylark has left us for a mute." The elder courtesan reached down to the floor and picked up two small boxes that Ai had not noticed. "Perhaps she will grant us one last exchange upon seeing her gifts." Ai, out of curiosity more than materialism, looked up at her sensei with a wry smile as Megumi gestured to two packages in her lap, beautifully wrapped in ivory paper and tied with a silver ribbon. She handed the smallest one to Ai.

Ai took the package and eyed it with scrutiny before delicately pulling back the ribbon and deviling into the small silver box that was revealed as the ivory paper fell away. Flicking the lid of the box open, she peered inside. Her eyes flashed as she looked up at Megumi with a large smile and moved forwards to embrace her teacher who laughed heartily.

"I am glad you approve," Megumi smiled and stroked her student's hair, "wear it proudly," she whispered as Ai pulled away from her, beaming.

"I shall." The young dancer said happily and removed, from the antique box, a small silver band, the middle of which housed a single diamond; it was an armlet. In the courtesan community, a teacher presented her student with her first armlet following her recognition as an established dancer; it was true that Ai was yet to seduce anyone but her skills were unmatched and so, to Megumi, it only seemed right. As Ai would become more experienced, her lovers, her customers, would add diamonds and further bands to the armlet and it was this that showed the ranking of a courtesan. Megumi wore seven thin bands on her left arm, tied with a single ribbon, diamonds in each band, shining and glittering, showing to the world her skill. "The other?" Ai looked to the other, larger gift in Megumi's lap and, with a gasp of remembrance, Megumi handed her the box.

"It arrived this morning," the older courtesan said, nonchalantly and Ai, placing her armlet on the bed beside her, took the box and opened it. A small cream-coloured card fell into her lap and she picked it up to read an inscription, written in black ink, in filigree-like handwriting:

_Perhaps a gold bangle would suffice as payment?_

Ai put the card down with a frown and looked into the box. She removed a pair a silk shoes and a wave of recognition passed over her. "From the Prince?" She asked and looked up to Megumi who smiled.

"You have not even danced for him and yet he sends you gifts," she laughed, "if only I had been so talented in my youth!" Ai smiled down at the shoes. Silver silk with embroidery of silver thread; had she managed to make such an impression in two minutes of meeting? "Ai," she looked up as Megumi spoke in a serious tone, "the palace is holding a banquet for the young Prince, tonight, they have requested a dancer in honor-"

"Of course I will." Ai spoke sharply and stood from the bed. With her back to her teacher, she began to stretch. Megumi stood too and shook her head.

"Whilst I am pleased that you have regained your usual spirit, I am afraid that I cannot allow-"

"This is ridiculous," Ai turned to her, "I am the first courtesan to the Kaze-"

"It is too dangerous for you." Megumi pleaded but Ai placed her hands on her hips and stood defiantly.

"Under whose judgment?" She frowned.

"Under mine, my child; I cannot see you be put through so much stress again." Her teacher answered but it was not good enough for a girl as stubborn as Ai.

"I can speak for myse…" Ai's voice trailed away and her head turned to the direction of her open door. The first dance practice of the morning were beginning and she could hear the musicians striking their harps to familiar chords. The notes floated in on the morning breeze. "Is that-?" After a moment of barely thinking, Ai ran from her room.

"Ai!" Megumi shouted after her and rolled her eyes; this girl was running nowadays more than she was dancing.

The Tea House was once the pride of Sunagakure; it was built by an aristocrat who grew fat and greedy and spent his money on cheap whores and alcohol until he succumbed to eating himself to his grave. He had built it as a testament to his own legend; as a collector of fine and beautiful things the Tea House was filled with items from all over the world. With architecture common to the dessert interspersed with more Western decoration, the aristocrat spared no expensive and even had the audacity to cheat the dessert by placing a large fountain in the courtyard. In his will, he left the house to his concubines who saw no reason to stop working and over time, the class of prostitute reached its highest possibility and courtesans now inhabited the place. It was a building of ancient grandeur; with all objects and infrastructure now mere whispers of how grand the place was. The only rooms kept in the best condition were those seen by customers; there was no need for Megumi to spend more than necessary on maintaining the place. Even the courtyard that held morning dance practices now looked like the ruin of a castle with grey, stone arches crumbling and being overtaken by roses climbing their way into the cracks. The Tea House was a jungle, a war between stone and glass, with beautiful relics ageing in every corner and Ai ran through it all, barely noticing the shouts of people calling for her to stop.

Ai entered the courtyard to the shock of those gathered and did not blink twice as they gestured to her in alarm. She did not care for their whispers; her eyes narrowed on the musicians who avoided her gaze so she looked for the dancer who was practicing that morning. Many dancers fluttered in and out of the courtyard, looking like tropical birds for the bright colours they wore stood out against the grey stone that surrounded them. Only one girl was stood in the centre, preparing to dance.

Miko, a dancer with green eyes and chocolate brown hair, Ai's oldest and closet friend, turned upon hearing the hurried footsteps, to face Ai. Miko's eyes widened as she realized the poorly dressed individual was her friend, for it was a very rare sight where a courtesan was in anything other than her finery.

"Ai! Are you feeling bett-"

"What are you doing?" Ai interrupted. Miko's smile faded; it was incredibly out of character for Ai to be so aggressive.

"Whatever do you mean?" In the chill of the morning, those gathered in the courtyard shivered upon hearing Miko's dangerous tone. A few dancers even shuffled back

"I wrote this song," Ai responded as Miko took a few cautious steps towards her, a thin smile spread over Miko's face.

"I will be performing at the palace tonight and we did not want such a beautiful song to go unsung."

"Then I will sing it." Ai snapped as Miko let out an airy laugh as though shooing away the idea.

"Megumi-sama has instructed me-"

"I will sing it." Ai repeated. The two friends stared at each other a moment longer before Miko's look of surprise was replaced by something Ai had never seen before. The green-eyed girl slinked over to Ai and shook her head.

"The Kazekage has cast quite a spell on you, hasn't he?" Miko whispered and flicked her eyes over to the crumbling arches behind Ai to see Megumi stood, watching the quarrel, wondering how far Ai would go for him.

"_Whatever do you mean?" _Ai asked with a sickly sweet smile.

"One moment you are completely passive, letting the waves of the day wash over you as we all try to coax our moon down from the night, and yet," Miko took a step toward Ai, "you cause such a storm at the thought of another girl dancing for him." Ai remained silent; Miko had no idea what she was up against.

The blue eyed dancer knew what her friend was doing; she was trying to get a rise out of her so Megumi would see that Ai was still emotionally vulnerable when it came to Gaara. If this happened, Megumi would replace Ai, out of the need to protect her, with the next best dancer. That was undoubtedly Miko and Ai was determined not to let him get away. She had to see him. Ai was being flooded by an overwhelming and incomprehensible feeling that she was trying to deny; she needed him.

"Well, I can see you are as stubborn as ever, Ai." Miko said cheerfully and closed her eyes with a smile to signal surrender. "Of course I would never get in your way," she gestured to the centre of the courtyard, "please, begin your practice; you have not danced for a few days." Ai smiled at her as Miko walked past her to go out of the courtyard but as they became level, the look in each other's eye was far from friendly. Upon entering the archways, Miko went to stand with Megumi and both watched as Ai began to instruct the musicians and called one of the younger dancers out assist her.

In the half-lit darkness of the arches, Megumi and Miko exchanged a glance.

"Why are things playing out this way, sensei?" Miko asked innocently and pouted as Megumi did not respond. "Why is she the one-"

"It has to be her." Megumi responded wisely. The teacher of courtesans contemplated a moment, wondering how much to tell Miko. Megumi was playing a dangerous game, the pieces of the chess board had been put in place nineteen years ago and she was simply taking the first move. The rest was up to Ai and Gaara…but how much should she give away to Ai's rival? What would be the benefit in hinting at the plan that was slowly revealing itself to the world? "There is more to Ai than you know, Miko, more than even she understands." Megumi spoke softly, delicately, daring Miko to ask more. The girl fell for her teacher's ruse.

"But why did you make me pretend to take over her dance? And why did you forbid her from seeing the Kazekage, only to give in a few days later?" Miko crossed her arms in annoyance and blew a straying strand of hair from her face.

"Because now," Megumi sighed and placed a hand on the wall next to her, looking out to Ai, "she will pour her soul into every note."

"But why is it so important that Ai be the one to dance for the Kazekage?"

"It is written in her destiny."

"How so?"

"You remember the story I told you as a child," Megumi spoke with a small smile; "Ketsueki ai no dendetsu_ (The Legend of the Blood- Love)_?" Miko took a moment to think before it registered with her.

"The story between the Gods?" As Miko spoke in barely a whisper, Megumi nodded.

"The love capable of starting or ending all wars." The elder woman sighed and looked to the crumbling stone that she was leaning against. The arch had carvings of flowers, fading and crumbling away, giving way to the real roses that were pushing their way through the cracks, towards the light. Such a delicate shade of pink, the roses unfurled and cowered in the breeze of the desert. "It is their story. I am sure of it." Megumi said with a small smile.

Miko looked out at Ai who was bossing her entourage of dancers around and raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"

"Her father forewarned me." As Megumi said this, Miko's eyes widened.

"Her father?"

* * *

Dinner was passing him by; the Kazekage sat with his council, siblings and royal guests in the hall where auspicious dinners usually took place. His Kazekage hat hung on the back of his chair as Gaara suffocated in the traditional robes that he had grown to hate. His back straight, his hand stretched out, holding the small clay cup of sake that had been poured for him. Gaara lowered his head slightly and Temari, who was sat on his right, could sense the dark clouds that were around him; the Kazekage's mind seemed to be elsewhere for he took no notice of the jubilant hubbub that surrounded him.

He stole a glance at the clock; the hand that counted down the minutes seemed to be moving torturously slowly. It was almost nine o'clock. It was almost time.

"Kazekage," a voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked to his left, to see Prince Nobutara smiling at him with that welcoming, open manner that the Prince had mastered. "You have become not only the youngest Kazekage in history but also the youngest Kage the world has ever known." Gaara nodded his head in thanks to Nobu's words, "tell me: how did you manage such a feat?" The Prince spoke with such ease at these gatherings; Gaara had been kept away from such things for so long that he found it difficult to be as at ease as the Prince was. It was the hardest part about being a Kage, in Gaara's opinion; the social, public-side of things was complicated and new to him. Nobtara was handsome and charming; he was almost the exact opposite to Gaara who remained quiet most of the time, isolated, unwilling to make himself known for fear of being shunned.

Temari watched her brother eagerly; over the space of only a few months she had seen Gaara change and shift to become the Kage that sat before her. The blood-lust was gone, replaced by the desire to be recognized by his village and those who once feared him. Gaara was calm and contemplative... not of late, granted, not since she came into his life. That girl was slowly unravelling what had taken years to tie up. Ai was a bizarre conundrum; Gaara seemed to come back to life when she was near and his siblings saw him happy for a few moments. The problem was- _Gaara seemed to come back to life when she was near. _Temari sighed and looked up quickly as Gaara opened his mouth to speak.

"With a lot of determination, Nobutara-san," Gaara spoke in that usual soft manner, aware that all eyes were on him, "Sunagakure became lost in the shinobi world; marred by lies and violence, it is my goal to re-establish our village and regain the honor we have forgotten." Gaara's words were met with a murmur of approval.

"Spoken like a true Kage," Baki said and raised his glass to the Kazekage, others around the table followed. Gaara felt more at ease; so he was getting better at this.

"Shall we retire to the courtyard?" Kankuro suggested cheerfully, much to the annoyance of Temari who shot him a look to silence him but it was too late. The puppet master grinned at his sister apologetically as everyone around the table stood upon seeing the Kazekage stand. Dinner was over, Temari remained in her seat, her lips pursed. The dancer from the Tea House was said to be ready for nine o'clock and, as the blonde looked up at the clock, she saw the clock strike nine. The guests all left the table smiling and talking happily; excited to see what the Tea House, which had a reputation like royalty, had to offer. Temari stood eventually as a group of women walked by her and she joined their group with a flase-smile. At least Ai was not dancing.

* * *

The performance was to take place in a stone courtyard that was situated in the back, private quarters of the palace. White stone arches lined the courtyard which was left open and empty for occasions such as this. The arches housed the seating for the royals and shinobi that would watch. The white stone glittered in the candlelight which was flickering and teasing fireflies as they dared to get too close. White birds that inhabited the courtyard fluttered away as they heard approaching footsteps.

Prince Nobutara entered the courtyard behind the Kazekage and looked up at the night sky that the desert had to offer. He frowned; no moon again tonight. Other than that the Palace was quite beautiful; strange that a Kage should have such a splendid home, considering he was merely a shinobi, not of noble or royal blood. But Sunagakure did have one of the earliest established dynasties in the world, perhaps the palace was simply a testament to the nobility of old.

Everyone went to take their seats on cushions surrounding the clearing in the courtyard, all hidden in the shade of the arches, waiting with baited breath to see who was coming to sing for them that night. The Kazekage and the Prince sat beside on another, the sand siblings beside their brother, members of the royal house by their prince. Musicians entered the courtyard and sat opposite the gathered guests, followed by courtesans who bowed and took seats behind the musicians. It began with the tinkling of anklets.

Gaara closed his eyes; that sound, it called out for him but she was not there. Where was she? He opened his eyes and could see the bright colours that the Tea House women wore but he could not see one that looked like her. None shone, like Ai did. None bit their lip in that seductive, mischievous manner that she did.

Perhaps she had not come. Perhaps, like always, he had scared someone away. Why did they run from him? At the thought of this lonesome and overbearing inevitability, Gaara bowed his head as something in his chest constricted and twisted in pain. Would he ever see her again? That skylark? That teasing summer breeze? Did she hate him? Did she long for him like he did for her? Did she think about him at all? He had never got to ask her, had he, what that feeling was that showed in her eyes when she kissed him?

"_On the desert plains there sat Love," _Gaara looked up at the sound of her name and saw, whilst he had been lost in his thoughts, that the performance had begun. The dancer in front of them who had her head bowed, had an entourage of women behind her, their voices stretched out into the night for him.

"_Alone and peaceful, in the calm of the sands, she whispers a name,_

_In the torturous heat of a moonless night _

_She looks into the darkness, defiant, determined." _The dancer sat still, her head lowered and in the darkness Gaara had this strange feeling, from her figure, from her smirk, that the girl sat in red was indeed Love.

_Who is she calling for? _

_Who is it that has such a vigilant follower?_

_Tell us, who does Love await?" _At the last syllable,the dancer lifted her head. Ai looked straight to him, for she had eyes for no one else, and upon capturing his gaze, the skylark sang:

"I beckon that which claws at my heart and stifles my breath;

Suffocates me in anguish and breathes life into me.

I await the Tempest." Ai reached out a hand for him.

"Come on to me, Tempest,

Save me from this burning desert,

Rain over me; stain me with your colour,

Steal me away with your callous words and beautiful song.

You leave me desolate, untouched, writhing in need,

If cruelty be your skill then teach me,

I am your undoubting follower." Ai bowed to him and Gaara had to close his eyes and take a breath for Shukaku trembled at her actions and Gaara began to feel that familiar ache, at her words.

"Teach me, you heartless storm, how it is you leave me breathless." She stood, the sound of her jewelry tinkling around her, the blood red colour of her skirt swept up of the white stone floor as she twirled and spun.

"_Naiveté and lust breed merely dreams;_

_A tempest shall never descend into our world._

_The desert shall never hear the drumming of thunder, nor the patter of raindrops._

_Foolish one, beautiful one, you have fallen under some spell." _The women, all dressed in white as though purposely trying to blend into the background, moved around Ai but it did not matter to the Kazekage for he could see only her. Ai laughed at their words and the gathered royalty and shinobi could see the courtesans giggling and applauding their comrade as her audience became captivated.

"I have felt the heat of a desert storm,

I have tasted it." Like a spark of electricity Kankuro realized that Ai's words were offering something more dangerous to her audience than anyone else suspected. He leant forwards to Gaara with an idea to get him to leave but the Kazekage predicted his siblings may interrupt and so tilted his head back to Kankuro with a look of annoyance; he was not going to be mollycoddled any longer. Ai was right; he had forgotten what it felt like to feel alive.

"I am but a victim of the tempest's curse and now

The thunder is here, it is my very heartbeat,

Rain sounds at my footsteps and lightning flashes here, in these eyes." Ai was slowly building a reputation that would lead to her downfall, in Temari's opinion, for she approached the Kazekage and the prince as though daring anyone to tell her not to get closer. She sat before the Kazekage and the two were finally face to face, after long, difficult nights of not being able to know one another.

Gaara had to break eye contact; those eyes with that look again! He couldn't stand what it did to him, what she did to him.

"Come on to me, Tempest," she sang but did not move, outraged that he could possibly tear his gaze from her but she knew, as did the other dancers, that her words would get to him.

"Rain over me, stain me with your colour," there was something in her words, like a spell, bringing up pictures of blood and pleasure and her and ecstasy.

"If cruelty be your skill then teach me,

I am your undoubting follower." She bowed before her Kazekage.

Teach me, you heartless storm, how it is to love you." The musicians struck the last note and Ai remained with her head bowed. Applause filled her ears, words of commendation and proclamations of love came her way but she waited for him to do something, to say something.

"Goodnight, Nobutara-san, until the morning." The Kazekage stood and walked straight passed her. Ai snapped her gaze up and turned to watch him leave, a look of distress slowly crept its way onto her face. She half wanted to scream at him; how dare he leave?! How dare he ignore her?! She saw his white robes steal out of the courtyard and up the steps to the Kazekage's quarters. Ai stood slowly; that _egotistical, malevolent, discourteous-!_

"I see the shoes I gave you were appreciated." Someone commented and Ai turned back to see the Prince looking down to her shoes. She suddenly remembered herself and swapped her look of utter outrage for one of happy surprise. The girl in blood-red bowed to the prince.

"Thank you, your highness." Ai remained stooped in her bow for usually royalty would say something to make you stand again but the boy said nothing. Instead, he put a finger to her chin and lifted her head.

"I did not catch your name in our first meeting." He whispered as those around them moved back into the hall where they had dinner. He lowered his hand from her face.

"Ai," she replied with a small smile.

"A suitable name," the prince said almost to himself.

"And you," for a moment Ai became lost in that mess of dark hair he had, "your highness?" She added.

"Nobutara-"

"Prince?!" Someone called out for him and the two turned to see an elderly woman of the royal household beckoning him. He turned to her quickly and took her hand.

"Again, fate interrupts," the prince whispered, "I will see you again," he murmured as he brought her hands up to his lips and softly kissed her.

"Ah," Ai gasped and withdrew from his grasp. "Until then," she said and bowed quickly. Nobutara smiled; her shyness now after being so bold with her singing, was intriguing to him.

"Prince?" The woman called again and Nobutara left Ai standing on her own, staring after him. As he walked he exuded such power and charisma, she saw other girls turn at the sight of him. Ai had bigger things on her mind for the moment and turned to face the stairs the Kazekage had walked up.

"Ai?" She glanced over her shoulder and saw Megumi beckoning her. She knew Megumi was about to forbid her from doing the reckless thing she wanted to do but Ai knew no force on Earth could stop her from having one last chance to scold him. "I…" her sensei's voice trailed away as she saw that glint in the young dancer's eye. "It is your choice, do as you wish." There was no stopping it now. The pages of a novel had begun to turn, that blood-red love was beginning to blossom and who was she to get in the way of legend?

Ai lifted her skirt and ascended the steps to meet her tempest.


	10. Sex

_**Sex**_

* * *

The night was a velvet dark, humid, bleak and barren. Candles flickered in the palace, warming the air with the scent of sandalwood as the moon ascended to meet the storm. Drapes billowed and swayed on the Kazekage's balcony, beckoning in the night, calling kismet to throw off the veil and reveal itself to the world.

On nights like this, in these hours of isolation, locked away in his room, his blood used to boil. The hunger for death was insatiable and the need to feel power surge through him was turning into desperation. All Gaara wanted was to let go, to unhinge the door that he had crafted between Shukaku and the world. To be swallowed whole by his insanity and taste blood was an overbearing instinct he was finding harder to silence.

The Kazekage stood in the half-darkness of his bedroom, his shadow flickered against the wall in the candlelight. His hands gripped the chair at his dressing table with such force that his knuckles were white from the pain of clutching to sanity. His head bowed, Gaara's face furrowed and contorted as he fought against his instincts. He staggered his breathing, trying to remain in control, trying not to listen to Shukaku's whispers that were attempting to persuade him that it would all feel better if he followed that scent of blood on the air.

Usually a cold moon would lend him company on nights like this, to cool his blood, to help him part with the lust. But there was no moon tonight.

"Ah!" Shukaku raised his head at the thought of her and Gaara gripped the frame of the chair so tightly a crack formed beneath his finger tips and ran along the wood, splintering the beautiful carvings, as though a blade had been run along the chair.

He couldn't take this anymore. It was tearing him apart. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. But his blood was boiling, his heart was pounding fit to burst -

"Kazekage?" The temperature in the room plummeted, at just the sound of her voice. Delicate and coy, the moon watched him from the doorway.

Slowly, Gaara opened his eyes and looked up to the mirror in front of him, the grand, gold-framed mirror that hung on his dressing table. He saw her in its reflection. The sight of Ai stood in red the colour of blood, her fair skin glowing in the candlelight of his room, her bright eyes narrowing on him with that look that killed him, so pure and innocent…she was to be his undoing.

His eyes were red, she noticed, his crimson waves of hair messy and rugged. The Kazekage stood hunched over his dressing table chair, his Kazekage robes abandoned to reveal his black clothes beneath. She had to take a breath and look away for the feeling of want was turning into an ailment. He was her weakness and she sighed deeply; no woman knew addiction, obsession, insanity, until you knew him.

They looked at one another in the reflection of the mirror. The outside world was forgotten, a distant memory, a dream, no longer a hindrance. The silence stretched on as they appraised one another; the coldness of the moon fighting against the heat of his blood, a war was breaking out between them and both were caught in the cross-fire.

Gaara bowed his head; he couldn't look at her anymore. The candles flickered as though cowering when he spoke suddenly:

"What did I do to deserve this torture?" His voice was husky, as though his throat were sore and dry.

"Torture?" She asked gently. Gaara looked back up at her reflection and growled.

"Two years it took me to tame this _beast_," he snarled; "this disease of madness!" He shut his eyes tightly as he felt Shukaku tremble. "And yet," he looked up to her, "in just a glance you unravel all that I have worked so hard to restrain." The frustration in his voice withered away, his shoulders slumped as he looked on at her as though defeated.

"Kazeka-"

"_Don't._" He turned from the mirror to see her properly. "Don't call me that." She bowed her head in respect for his wishes; there was something different about him in this moment. It is as though, all along, she had met the tied up, responsibility-bound Kazekage and finally, after weeks of waiting, she was meeting him, she was finally facing Gaara. "I know you do it on purpose." He interrupted her thoughts, "you do it to appease me; you think all this _immorality_, will be forgotten if you coat the situation with honey-dipped words." He began to raise his voice against her, as she stood in silence; "You think I don't know the games courtesans play? The games women play? You appease me so I see past what you are." He winced as though the thought of it caused him pain. "A whore." Gaara spoke so bluntly, so cruelly that Ai recoiled. "I detest it. It repulses me. You manipulate men and sell yourself for their pleasure; it is degrading, disgusting, I can't stand the thought of what you are." It was Ai's turn to wince at his words as though they cut her; how could he be so cruel? Did he not know that it was not out of duty that she came here, but out of her own desire? She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to shine as frustration coursed through her; why did he always accuse her of being dishonest? She opened her mouth to speak but Gaara would not let her play her games of rhetoric with him.

"But it doesn't stop." He whispered as though to himself but his tone was enough to stop Ai in her tracks; he was no longer angry, he sounded defeated. Gaara looked to the floor, misery engulfing him. "The pain of wanting you does not reside no matter how many times I tell myself that I should stay away from you." Gaara glanced up and gestured to the girl in the doorway. "Who thought a woman of sin could look so much like an angel?" With a small smile, Ai shut the door with her foot and began to walk towards him. "Why did no one warn me that the price of not seeing you for days would be agony?"

"Gaa-"

"Stay away from me!" He shouted at her suddenly and lashed out his arm to stop her coming close. Ai jumped and cowered a few feet away from him, she held her veil around her tightly like a shawl as it slipped from her head. "Don't you understand what I am, Ai?" His eyes widened, manically almost, as he could not fathom why she would want to get closer. "Doesn't it scare you? After we kissed I almost killed you; is not that in itself enough to warn you that I am trouble?" The Kazekage slid down to the floor until he was sat, his back against his chair, one knee brought up to his chest, his head in his hands, breathing heavily out of frustration. His face contorting in pain as his anger fuelled Shukaku's temper.

Ai stood, unsure of what to do or what to say; one moment he wanted her, the next he didn't.

"I want, _so badly_," He took his hands from his face and looked up at her, "to fuck you." Ai bit her lip and smiled a smile of relief; like a curse, his words ignited something inside of her, something that had been waiting to hear him say it. "I want to taste every part of you, to know every curve, every dip of your body, to hear every sweet sigh you take when I show you exactly what it is I think of, when I think of you." Gaara watched her melt; Ai lowered herself gently to her knees, her gaze cast downwards and, placing her hands on the floor in front of her, began to crawl towards him.

The Kazekage let out a shuddering breath; how did she know exactly what to do, he wondered as their gaze met, to make his body stiffen and melt at the same time? Her big blue eyes filled with mischief and longing as she crawled up to Gaara and stretched out towards him to meet his lips. The Kazekage closed his eyes as she leant towards him. Inches from his face, Ai stopped and watched his handsome features become pained as he felt her close. She was not about to give in so easily.

"What do you think of, Gaara?" She whispered and watched as his lips part to speak.

"Terrible, wrong, sinful things." As Ai put the arches of her lips against his, he shivered. "No, Ai, please stop." She kept her lips so close to his that as Gaara spoke, their lips brushed.

"Let the priests in the temple pray for you, Kazeakge; I am here to make sure that there is something worth saving you from." He smiled and shook his head.

"Shukaku won't let me touch you. He wants you, Ai." Gaara spoke softly as though fearful the demon might hear him.

"I do not fear him." She said defiantly and retreated a little. Gaara opened his eyes; she spoke as though frustrated. Ai was looking to the floor, her dark thick waves of hair falling around her, licking the floor as she spoke. "Why do you insist on denying yourself what you want?" She asked him and shook her head, "why do you find it so hard to imagine that I could want you as well?" Gaara was going to interrupt but she spoke over him, "this week has been painful and cold without you, Gaara." He sighed; so it was too late to save them from each other. "The pain that has been inflicted on you, I feel it too; we are tied to one another by a thread of fate."

"What do you want from me Ai?"

"I told you, Kazekage," she smiled to the floor, "rain over me. Stain me. Steal me away." Ai placed her hands in front of her and as she lowered herself to the floor she spread out her arms and bowed to him in surrender. "I am you undoubting follower; teach me, Gaara, how it is you make lo- ah!" Gaara had reached out for her and grabbed a handful of her dark clouds of hair, to pull her up to face him. Her eyes shone and glittered as Ai put a hand up to where he gripped her hair, she looked at him with pleading, tear-filled eyes. But there was more in her eyes than simply fear; the pain of longing, the final whisper of surrender to his will, was there in her eyes. Gaara knelt and towered above her, holding her close, his lips inches from hers, her eyes straining with tears of lust. "I am bound to you, Gaara," as she spoke she reached up and brushed hair from the kanji on his forehead; "like the night to the sky." Ai gasped again, her glistening lips quivering as he pulled her hair a little harder. Gaara caged her; he was strong and broad and made her feel petite and breakable in his arms. The young Kazekage's opal eyes looked down at her with increasing curiosity as a tear rolled slowly out of her eyes. "Gaara," Love begged, "let me into your heart," she saw his eyes become deeper, loving almost as he watched her. "I will see it catch fire."

With his left hand in her hair, Gaara let his other hand wipe the tear from her face, snake down from her neck, over the curve of her breasts to her waist. His gaze followed his hand for he wanted to know every inch of her skin that was blushing and burning from his touch. He followed the dip of her waist around to her back and pulled her lower half into him. At the same time he pulled her hair back so Ai was forced to face the ceiling; she was opening up, unfurling for him. Her neck stretched as he pulled her hair and her torso lengthened as the Kazekage pulled her closer.

Gaara leant down, closed his eyes and sunk his teeth gently into her neck. He felt himself twitch as a soft gasp escaped her lips. He withdrew a little and kissed the skin he had nipped at; it was wet and warm and as he continued his torture of gentle kisses, Ai slowly opened her eyes only to view the Kazekage's ceiling.

Her mind was elsewhere, it seemed to be able to feel every pore of her skin burning for him. With his hands controlling her like a puppet designed for his torturous love, it was obvious to her that her body was weightless to him. She adored everything about it and it made her wonder; could sex really be like this? Was this really how mortals made love? Somehow she doubted it as Gaara continued to kiss and bite his way across her collarbone, he was stirring something inside her that felt deeper than her soul. It was nothing like the poetry she read, nothing like the songs she had been taught to sing; it was an intoxicating mix of spiritual in the way they connected and felt one another but entirely animalistic in the way he tugged at her and clawed at her.

Smoothing his lips across her gently and taking deep, long kisses was not alerting Shukaku to Ai's presence; perhaps Gaara was able to tame the beast when around her? Perhaps he could actually touch her now? He released her hair and Ai slowly brought her head back to meet his as Gaara made his way up her neck. Her nose brushed his cheek affectionately as he went to rest both his hands on her waist. As the Kazekage waited there, his eyes caught on her lips, Ai put her hands up to his chest and began to unbutton his shirt. With every inch of his skin that she revealed, she brushed it with her fingertips, feeling how hard his skin was. After years of battle and training, his body was rough and rugged from war.

"Did I cause you pain?" He breathed heavily and kissed the corner of her lips.

"Yes," she murmured and Gaara looked away in shame; he didn't mean to hurt h- "but I like the way you hurt me." His eyes widened in surprise as she whispered to him and pulled his shirt down, off his shoulders. Their eyes met. "Fuck me, Gaara."

Shukaku heard her say it, but Gaara liked it more. In less than an instant, that insatiable blood-lust took over. To own her in that moment, to make a fallen angel out of her, this moon-like girl who was foolishly ready to sacrifice her innocence for him, it woke him up. A rage, an insanity filled him and Gaara could not control himself any longer.

"Gaara, wai-" But Gaara could no longer hear her; he shoved her to the floor, parted her legs and climbed on top of her. The demon was stirring and he was finding it harder and harder to control himself. The shinobi looked down to the girl and placed a hand gently around her throat. He leant down to her, his crimson hair falling into hers.

"You are denying weeks of pent up desire," he growled softly, "I will not wait for you any longer, Ai. You are mine." With that, he reached down and ripped open the front of her dress before his hands coarsely cupped and smoothed over her breasts. He was rough out of inexperience and his unsatisfied thirst for her made him rush as his hands explored her but Ai did not mind. In fact she adored his sadistic and hurried affection; her back began to peel away from the floor as she arched, lifting her chest in the air to be closer to him. With her eyes closed, she bit her lip as Gaara let his tongue, warm and wet, glide in the valley between her breasts. The sensation even made her giggle. At the sound of her laughter, Gaara smiled, before pulling her dress up over her hips. She helped him to remove her underwear and as Gaara knelt and Ai sat in front of him, he reached down between her legs and let out a shuddering sigh.

Ai was soaking wet for him, and she gasped and twitched as he let his fingers slip up and down. For a few minutes, the young Kazekage did not indulge her in the things she started to beg for.

"Please," she whispered as she fell back to lie on the floor once more, "just slip inside me Gaara, I need you," lust and greed for him made Ai say all kinds of things. The more Gaara withheld, the dirtier, more desperate Ai became. It was delicious to watch someone with such a beautiful-angelic face, turn out to have such a filthy mouth. "Fuck me, Gaara, don't keep me in this agony…let me taste you….I need you." He watched her writhe as he stroked her, his fingers becoming soaked. Eventually, Ai became frustrated with waiting. The blue eyed beauty sat up and pushed his hand away from her roughly.

"Hey!" Gaara shouted at her but Ai shouted back:

"Don't think you can torture me just because I belong to you!" She screamed at him before suddenly becoming coy; upon hearing her shout, Gaara smiled an almost evil, michshevious smile and moved onto her again. As he advanced, she was forced, out of fear of that sickly-sinful smile, to lie back down. He loved to intimidate her; he could see from the way she did not know how to react that she was fearful and curious at the same time. He towered over her as she lay on the floor; his broad physique overshadowed her as she looked up at him.

"What did you say?" He asked and Ai pouted as he reached down to the courtesan and, with his fingers that were wet from her, he traced the outline of her lips. Ai knew what he wanted her to say and, despite herself, she wanted to say it again.

"I belong to you, Gaara." He did not let her even finish her statement; he dipped his wet fingers into her mouth as she opened it to speak. Ai licked and sucked on his fingers almost gratefully and pulled up her dress again. The Kazekage leant down to kiss her and as he did, with one hand in her mouth, he used his other to unzip his trousers.

His dick was thick and hard and throbbing for her and Gaara gasped into her mouth as a spasm of pleasure shot through him when he stroked himself. But Ai was unaware of his actions for she was swept up and lost in his wonderful face, in his crimson hair; her hands ran through it and tugged at it as she tasted herself on his lips. Ai was trying to keep up but something was changing; his movements were becoming jerked, his kisses turned to bites so she had to withdraw from his embrace. She pushed him back and saw his brow furrowed, his breathing was heaving as he gazed hungrily at her.

"Kazekage?" Ai looked up at him with terrified eyes. It was not Shukaku, but the blood-lust that the demon fueled was taking Gaara over. Shukaku's desire was feeding into Gaara's and the demon was beginning to win. Before Ai could protest, Gaara turned her around and forced her face into the carpet by pushing the back of her head to the floor. Her dark hair cascaded around her and she tried to break free of his grasp but to the shinobi her strength was nothing. Gaara pinned her to the floor, lifted her dress over her hips once more and thrust his cock inside of her.

Ai cried out; the pain was far more than she expected but Gaara hadn't even given her a chance to become comfortable, he held her down and kept himself inside her for a few moments. Ai felt nothing but the pain of his dick filling her up, she winced and writhed and almost begged for it to be over. But the Kazekage pulled back slowly, before thrusting his hips and slipping himself back into her inviting warmth once more.

"Gaara, please-!" Gaara held that position, almost completely on top of Ai, towering over her, his dick throbbing inside her as she squeezed around him and tried to adjust to alleviate her pain. But every tiny, frustrated movement she made felt so good to him. He tilted his head back in ecstasy, his red hair sticking to his forehead with the sweat that built up from the effort of controlling himself. Gaara groaned in relief as one hand leant on the floor for balance and the other gripped onto Ai's hip, drawing her up into him. He withdrew slowly before slamming himself into her yet again. He let out a shuddering sigh as pleasure came not only in small waves all through his body, but sharp electrical bolts that shot through his cock that was becoming covered in Ai's sweet and sticky juices. So this was sex.

He withdrew again before slamming back into her, almost lazily, as though tired from his lust, like a warrior, exhausted from battle, enjoying the spoils of war, he savored every moment. Pulling back again he felt himself twitch with delight as he felt her getting wetter, getting used to the pain he caused her. He slid back into her and eventually, within only a few moments, Gaara began to fuck her in the way he had dreamt about. Hard and unforgiving, the Kazekage unleashed all desire he had for her by clawing at her skin, reaching down and pulling roughly at her hair as he fucked her. He felt her twitching, he heard her groaning but Gaara did not stop, not even when she asked him to slow down. His frustration of being without her had gone on too long, he needed her to give him some sweet release from this torture he had been under.

He needed Ai to bring him to ecstasy, to let his blood boil over. And so she did, that delicate, innocent whore felt his hips buckle and his cock stiffen inside of her as he almost collapsed on top of her; he put his head on her shoulder and reached around her to hold her breast as he climaxed. He breathing staggered, his hips lost rhythm for a moment as he groaned in pleasure. His twitching subsided until eventually all was still.

Ai was almost curled up underneath him, wincing, her eyes watering from pain, her hair flowing around her like soft waves of the nighttime. The dancer felt him gently slip off her and move away. Slowly, Ai opened her eyes and pushed her hair back as she tried to sit up. Her back was stiff and painful after his cruel sex and she frowned as a pain shot through her hips. Not a moment of pleasure was given to her but to her it did not matter. As her pain subsided she was finally able to open her eyes and look around for him.

Gaara was sat besides her, facing the opposite direction, his legs crossed, he was already re-dressed. He had re-buttoned his shirt and sat with his head bowed, eyes closed and eerie and uncomfortable silence filled the room as though Gaara knew he had made a mistake.

With one hand holding her dress against her chest, for he had ripped off the buttons, Ai reached out with the other to push his hair away from his forehead affectionately. The Kazekage sensed her movement and moved out of her reach. Ai gasped; he was going to ignore her, treat her like a mistake, like he didn't want her? She shook her head with a look of offence:

"You are _intolerable!_" She exclaimed and stood up. The courtesan lifted her skirt and searched the floor for her veil. Ai did not bother to look to him as he stood on his feet shakily. She ignored Gaara as he winced and put a hand over his eye as though something in his head were clawing at his brain. The Kazekage went to sit on the edge of his bed and hung his head in shame.

Love was flitting like a breeze around his room but Shukaku would not let him rest; the demon was breathing heavily, drawing shaky breaths and rattling around in the Kazekage's subconscious. Shukaku was unsure of how he felt about what had happened. The beast was whispering to Gaara that the shinobi did not take advantage of how sweet her skin would taste, of how good it would have felt to have seen the look on her face when he fucked her. Shukaku was disturbed and irritated and he whined inside Gaara's head in a way the man had never felt; he winced as a pain shot behind his eye.

Ai had moved into the Kazekage's bathroom and was finishing washing her hands when she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. A mess of dark curls and those diamond blue eyes looked back at her. So that was it. Virginity gone. The corner of her lips curved into a smirk; whether or not it was painful or pleasurable, regardless of the fact he was borderline abusive, she was glad. Ai would not have wanted it any other way. She adjusted her hair as best she could and sighed at her reflection.

Did he not want her any longer; now that he had taken what he wanted? Was Gaara really like that? Is there any way a man could kiss her like that and not want to see her again? To her, he was becoming a drug; she would do anything for the intoxication of him, of Gaara. But he did not want her to touch him, did he? It was over between them. Ai wrapped her veil around her like a shawl and walked out of the bathroom.

The young Kazekage was where she left him; alone and in silence, on the edge of his bed, his head bowed. Fine, if that's the way he wanted to leave things then she would respect his selfish wishes. Ai gathered her dress and walked to the door with a heavy heart; would he ever speak to her again-?

"Stay," Ai stopped dead in her tracks. Her hand hovered above the door handle and her big blue eyes snapped open as she heard something she never thought she would hear. The girl in red turned to her lover slowly, he kept his head bowed, his gaze averted. Her eyes began to mist over as he confirmed her fears; "please, stay." His voice broke, as did her heart.

Without a second thought, Ai released her veil from her grasp and walked to him swiftly. He did not look up as she approached and Ai could tell that it was because he did not want to; his body was trembling and he was biting his lip. As she approached, Gaara turned his head away, almost ashamed of himself for continuing this farce.

One look at him was enough to make any woman weak but in this moment, seeing him vulnerable made Ai aware of what he was asking of her; he wanted her to love him. If only for the night.

"Gaara," his name escaped her lips softly as the courtesan knelt down in front of him and took his hand. Gaara was not distant to her after sex because he was ashamed of having succumbed to sleeping with a courtesan; he was vulnerable following the effort it took to protect her from Shukaku. Ai kissed his hand softly, affectionately, wondering how he would respond. He withdrew his hand quickly and pushed her away a little, "ah," she gasped softly.

"Forgive me," the Kazekage finally turned to her, "I never meant to harm you." He pleaded with her and looked down to the girl he was finding it hard to be parted from. She looked back at his eyes, which were stinging from the effort to hold back what he was feeling, and smiled.

"I know you can never hurt me, Kazekage," she whispered and Gaara shook his head at her. Her skin was glowing as though she were constantly bathed in the light of a star. Ai was everything he wanted in that moment and he could no longer deny what was happening inside of him. "Gaara," Ai spoke softly as his eyes filled with tears.

"The sight of you consoles me, Saku _(New moon)_." The crimson haired boy whispered and took her face in his hands. "Where have you been for so long?" He asked her and it was the look on his face, one of hurt, and his shaking voice that made her eyes begin to fill with tears too. "Why did you abandon me, Love?" He asked and Ai shook her head. Gaara leant forwards and leant his forehead on hers, "it has left me broken." Ai kissed him quickly.

"I never left you, beloved." She whispered and smiled at him as tears escaped her eyes. "I was marked on you the moment the Gods made me for you" Gaara smiled at her consoling words. "I am here. Always."


	11. Prayer and Sin

**Sorry for the long delay!**

* * *

_**Prayer and Sin**_

Sunagakure's history was a rich tapestry of customs and clans; it was home to the oldest known civilisation and religion. Thousands of years of tradition was rumoured to be engraved on the hands of every descendant; each life line, each crease in your palm is said to hold your past and your future. It was often remarked that the Creator himself looked unto the world and smiled down at Sungakure with such affection that he allowed demigods to live there; the people of the village of Sand were rumoured to be the children of those gods.

Few know now, of the history, the legend of the Sand, few can read the ancient scripts or speak the forgotten languages. Only a handful in their nation could recite the prayers properly and sing out the names of the gods with perfect eloquence. If you asked in the village, who to go to for guidance on these lost traditions, you would be pointed in one of three directions:

Some may tell you to visit scholars, who were ageing and bias to more politically-centred teachings, others would tell you to see the Royal families of the land for it was their duty to uphold traditions out of respect for their lineage. But if you really wanted to hear the ancient poetry and recount tales of Sunagakure's great history, you go to the oldest establishments in the village: the Five Houses.

Home to the courtesans of the village, it was these women who were schooled in the most ancient of languages and taught even the most obscure of traditions. For they were the backbone of the community before shinobi entered the world; they were the ones who shaped the future of their Kingdoms and were naturally entrusted with the village's history. Over time, of course, people believed courtesans were becoming outdated and expensive; reserved for royals and Kage. But royals marry early nowadays to establish trade relations and Kage, it seemed, were getting younger and harder to influence.

But the threat of extinction did not stop her from adhering to tradition.

Ai was sat in a Summer breeze, kneeling before a low table on which small statues of the gods were placed. A pastel yellow veil on her head, her eyes closed, hands clasped, she knelt in prayer.

Prayers at dawn were her favourite; the smell of incense early in the morning, the songlike prayer waking up the house along with sunshine, the smell of the freshly cut flowers- it was soothing and captivating. Prayers cleansed your mind of thoughts of the world around you so you could find peace.

She had woken before the sunrise and asked servants at the palace to bring her everything she needed to perform morning prayers, to bless the Kazekage's room and the man himself. The servants, the young ones never even having heard of some of the things she asked for, obliged and looked on in curiosity as they helped her to set up the small shrine in the Kazekage's quarters.

With her head bowed, that dancing girl, that thief of songbirds, that catcher of falling hearts, was sat, silent, in prayer.

From the table, behind stone eyes, the god Rajin caught sight of Love, on her knees before him, in worship. The statue, carved of red stone found in the caverns on the outskirts of the village, watched as that moonlike girl gave a small smile. Who was it that Love could pray for? Who was it that could make her smile in that mischievous, innocent manner? Almost as though his thoughts had manifested themselves as a breeze, a quiet wind issued forth and teased the girl's veil as though trying to make it slip from her head.

Upon feeling the god's will, electric blue eyes flickered open and glanced at the figure of Rajin. The god of yore gasped from his stony cage; what eyes! The girl smiled up at him for she had always found it odd as a child, that people in the desert should worship a god of rain. Regardless, Rajin watched as that moonlike girl struck and match and lit the incense beside him, showered him and smaller statues in a flurry of rose petals and bowed to him. In return, he blessed the mugs of milk she had offered him. One, presumably was an offering to him but the other mug?

As Ai finished her prayer, that teasing breeze fluttered past her to the open balcony doors and the girl followed it with her gaze to where it made the drapes billow and sway to reveal the silhouette of someone stood on the balcony, looking out into the world. At the sight of his figure, she smiled.

"Ah!" Ai put a hand on her hip and winced as she stood a little too quickly; she was still a little stiff and in pain after her first night with the Kazekage. After rubbing her side to rid her of the ache, the courtesan leant down to the table and picked up one of the mugs of milk.

Gaara was stood on his balcony, his hands against the stone banister, leaning forwards a little, watching, appreciating the quietness of his village in the morning. Even at this time of day, Suna was so hot that he decided to remove his shirt so he stood, silent and observant as always, in his white cotton trousers, looking around his village with an almost new found fascination.

The world was seeming different to him; no longer did Suna feel like a burden, no longer did the pressures of being a Kage haunt him. The world seemed lighter, he felt stronger, as though his chakra were weightless- before it would take him some effort to manipulate sand but now it was a nonexistent hardship. The sunshine that used to mark the beginning of a new day of torment, of strange looks and taunting from villagers, was now golden and shimmering. The world was new. It was easier to breathe. What was this feeling?

Gaara bowed his head, his crimson hair falling in lustrous waves, as he heard her approach. That young Kazekage, that demon boy, that heartless, rugged, handsome man, was tragically too hurt, too overshadowed by a past of death and anguish to see that his answer came in the form of Love.

He turned back to his room to see Ai enter the balcony, looking out at the ever-distant horizon as she approached him, holding the edge of her veil in her left hand, a mug of milk in the other.

What Gaara could not realise, what he could not understand, was that Ai heralded the end of his loneliness. The darkness inside the boy, that anger that used to consume him, was fading in wake of the moonlight. But Gaara could not see it; like someone kept in darkness for so long, a glimpse of moonlight was near-blinding.

Ai had her eyes on the village, adoring the silence of the morning but her gaze could not stay away from Gaara for very long. Her big blue eyes turned to him now as he leant lazily against the balcony railing, arms folded, shirtless and every inch a warrior, Gaara's cool and nonchalant demeanour made her smile coyly.

She approached him with her head bowed and held up the mug.

"What is it?" He asked as he unfolded his arms and looked down to her face, silently begging for her to look up.

"Boshū _(an offering)._" She said sweetly and looked up to him.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" Gaara asked and looked down skeptically at the mug in her hand. She huffed and inwardly rolled her eyes; after all the years of training to do things properly and traditionally, this fool had no appreciation of her customs.

"Raijin himself blessed it so you may be safe." Gaara tried to prevent his brow from furrowing in frustration; that courtesan tone. That sickly sweet, seductive way of talking where Ai blew words like a delicate, exotic breeze up to him. In a way, he liked it; it showed that she wanted to please him. In a way, he hated it; he wanted to see the real her, the one who acted a little spoilt, a little arrogant because he loved to see that look of confidence turn to one of innocence when he leant in towards her. There was one way to achieve this with Ai: challenge her, outsmart her, tease her, twist her arm behind her back and that girl with the face of a goddess, would surrender to his every whim.

He sniffed at the mug in her hand and pulled a face. "I dislike milk and saffron smells strange." Ai raised an eyebrow; this spoilt prince- the most expensive spice in the world was not to his liking! More than that, he was too good for her offering, and after all the hard work she had put into the prayers!

"Fine." She spoke bluntly and as she walked away Gaara watched her put the mug over her shoulder and let go of it.

"Ai" Gaara whispered quietly and winced as the clay mug smashed onto the floor. Love had a temper not unlike his own. The shinobi did feel bad, given that she had prepared the boshū just for him. He had only been teasing her and shook his head at Ai as her figure disappeared behind his drapes. Gaara leant down to pick up what was left of the cup.

"Who exactly do you think is here to clean up after you, Ai?" She had already walked back into the room but upon hearing him speak, she pushed back the drapes that separated the bedroom and the balcony and looked to him with a smile, those blue eyes catching the sunlight.

"Looks like you are." Ai looked down at him and tilted her head as he picked up the clay; how unlike Gaara to honour her silly tantrum. She had expected him to twist her arm and pull her back to him but for some reason, today, he was different.

Upon realising his mistake of giving in to her, Gaara let go of the clay and stood. "Vanity will get you no where." The Kazekage remarked cooly. Ai let the drape fall between them.

"It got me to you, did it not?" He followed her voice into the room and watched that dark hair sway and her smile begin to fade as he started to walk towards her. Those blue eyes, full of mischief, become round and fearful as he approached her so confidently. Gaara was unashamedly reckless in his lust for her and it made the dancer weak at the knees when he advanced on her like this. She walked backward and jumped when the back of her knee hit the shrine she had made in the room. Her hand, which dangled precariously above the other boshū on the table, accidentally brushed the milk that she had offered to Raijin and she gasped as her ring finger dipped into the cool liquid.

"Ah," she brought her left hand up to her face to see her wet finger but the Kazekage took her hand before she had time to look at it. Ai watched in curiosity as Gaara took her hand, leant in close to her and placed her ring finger on his lips. The blessed milk ran along her finger onto his lips and into his mouth. The girl kept her eyes on his lips; the way they were so smooth against her finger and how wet and warm and inviting his mouth was when he took the tip of her finger and kissed it. He flicked his eyes up to her and smirked as the sight of his dark-rimmed, opal eyes, full of affection, made her jump a little. He leant in.

"Come to my office after lunch," he whispered, "there is something I wish to discuss with you." And with that Ai nodded and Gaara walked away, put on his shirt, and left the room to begin work for the day.

* * *

Mornings for dancing girls followed a very strict routine; up at dawn, then prayers followed by breakfast, then classes began. Every dancer was taught the same basic curriculum, but some specialised in a field to make them more desirable for a particular clientele. For instance, Miko and Ai were both trained to dance, to sing, to write poetry and music, but Miko enjoyed playing games and so trained in old card games and even learnt how to cheat efficiently on behalf of her customer. This meant that Miko was often found in the company of gamblers and thieves.

Ai, on the other hand, was regarded as a bookworm; constantly reading, thirsting after legends and history. She had studied most things shinobi study and had a theoretical understanding of everything ninja-related. Megumi was glad when Ai had demonstrated an interest in the world of shinobi for the elder had picked Ai from a handful of girls to be raised specifically for Kage or royalty.

Therefore Ai specialised in war and politics so it was not unusual to find her amidst the fray of a great debate or sat in places unknown with a book that that spoke of poetry and romance and science and war. However, Megumi had noticed that over the past few weeks, the books Ai was sneaking from her teacher's private library were all running along a dangerous theme.

As the wise, elder courtesan entered the courtyard for lunch, she spied the moon perched on a swing, hidden by the low branches of a cherry tree. Ai was sat as innocent as ever; reading and twirling her hair between her fingers.

"Very ambitious of you; to attempt to read a whole novel in _jōdai nihongo (old Japanese_)," Ai jumped as someone spoke to her, their voice cutting through the peace of the morning like a knife through ripened fruit.

"Megumi-sama!" Ai gave a pathetic attempt to hide the book behind her back but her teacher simply held out her aged hand, adorned with a hand harness made up of glittering gemstones, all shimmering in anticipation to see what scolding Ai would receive.

"Did you think I would not notice all these books missing from my person?" Ai avoided her glare and handed over the book. "There are a handful of people alive today who can read the dead language and only two of them reside in this village. I am one of them. You are the other." Ai smiled apologetically as Megumi took a seat beside her swing. The book had golden, delicate pages that seemed to wither in the sunlight. The book was little over a hundred years old and shivered with age, as though fearful it would fall to pieces, as the woman inspected the cover. Ai watched Megumi's face, trying to read it, to see what a smile or a frown might give away. Megumi showed no trace of emotion as she turned to Ai.

"My dear," Megumi began, looking out into the courtyard, wondering how to go on, "this book ," she indicated with a nod to the book in her hands, "is about _bijū (tailed beasts). _What interest do you have in them?"

"I am supposed to be in the court of a _jinchūriki," _Ai responded. "Surely it would be unwise to advance in ignorance?" Teacher and student looked at one another.

"I should have raised you for a feudal lord; you speak so diplomatically. Shinobi are men of action, they have no time for eloquence." Megumi nodded her appreciation at Ai's words but she knew the truth. She knew Ai; Megumi raised the girl and could see straight through her. Ai was stubborn and intelligent; once she had put her mind on something it was difficult to convince her otherwise. Ai had set her sights on Gaara and rumour in the Bath House was that she was seen leaving his quarters early this morning. "I trust you know what you are doing, my dear?" Ai smiled.

"Of course."

"Then I leave it in your hands." Megumi reached over and placed the book in Ai's lap. She beat down, kissed the girl on the forehead and smiled at her. "I am proud of you."

As Megumi walked away, she thought of what Ai was reading. That book had been handed down through great shinobi families and finally Megumi stumbled upon it in her heydays. It was not a simple book recounting the history of the tailed beasts, but it spoke of their incarceration in human sacrifices. It was a near-outlawed book, reserved only for those who wished to tamper in forbidden justu. If it were any other girl, Megumi would see no harm in a dancer reading about bijū. But the truth was that Ai was not ordinary. Her relationship with the Kazekage was not ordinary.

The pages of this legend were turning quicker than Megumi believed possible. She wondered what Ai would do at the very end of it all, what choice Gaara would make when faced with it? Death followed the Kazekage like a shadow; what could he possibly do to save Ai from himself?

* * *

The Kazekage had not been very busy that morning, which he was grateful for; Shukaku was still acting restless and nagging at Gaara's subconscious in the manner he did when Gaara was a small child. Before the shinobi consented to Shukaku's murderous rampages, the bijū would whine and wait until Gaara was of an age where he could influence him. It would drive Gaara to insanity; to have this constant whinging accompanied with an instinct for violence. He shook his head as though to shut the monster up; the incessant nagging was so irritating, especially since Gaara had learnt to quieten the bloodlust.

It was difficult to forget the night before; that feeling of having Ai close to him, of seeing her eyes fill up with longing for him, was something he never thought he, Gaara the demon child, would ever get to experience. She was exactly what he would call beautiful and simple and loving; everything he longed for.

After he had asked her to stay with him, the Kazekage had rested his head on her stomach and clutched onto her clothing every time Shukaku trembled and caused him pain. The damned one-tails caused the Kazekage such grievance, he could not keep his guard up in front of her. As the pain subsided in the early hours of the morning, Gaara revealed to her some of his heartache. He shouldn't have done that, it was foolish and naive to entrust Ai with information about himself. She was a courtesan; the girl could sell him out in an instant if someone offered her more than he could.

Deep down, he knew it wasn't true. He knew that Love was becoming something he could not bear the thought of losing. Nonetheless, he had to lose her. He had to shake her, to wake her up, to show her that their relationship was entirely professional-

"Kazekage?" And yet, he sighed, she spoke his name as though she were the one breathing life into him. He looked up from his desk to see Ai stood in his doorway, as usual, but for once, she looked glad to see him.

"Come in." He called to her and sat back in his chair. Ai entered with the smell of roses; she was painted in a pastel yellow today and smiled at him before brushing a curl behind her ear in shyness. "Sit, Ai." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk and Ai did as told. The Kazekage leant forwards and addressed her.

"I trust you have told no one about last night?" As he spoke, he caught the smile that faded from her face, she seemed surprised by the question.

"No."

"I think it is something we should keep to ourselves." Gaara folded his arms as Ai looked away, clearly irritated; this boy changed his mind as quickly as a shadow escaped sunlight. Her shoulders slumped a little.

"Are you going to tell me it was a mistake?"

"No." Gaara spoke quickly, determined, in that Kazekage voice he hated. Ai looked up at him, her eyes wide and innocent.

"Then?" She implored him; why was he pushing her away. It was his turn to avert his eyes, he found it so hard to distance himself. "Do not punish me with silence, Gaara." Ai continued; "do not treat me as one of the Kazekage's council members." Her voice turned to a whisper as she spoke to the floor; "don't put me back there, Gaara." He said nothing. Both were beginning to hurt from his noncommittal attitude. "Last night-"

"You did your job." Ai closed her eyes as though his words had cut straight through her.

"And you? She asked, not wanting to her an answer. "What was it to you?" Gaara said nothing. "It is clear from your demeanour that something has changed in only a few hours since dawn."

"Nothing has changed, Ai." The Kazekage spoke confidently, his arms still folded, an unmoving mountain, unaffected by her words. "I have simply confirmed my plans for you and I." Their eyes met.

"Plans?"

"Yes. " Gaara replied, "you are going to help me." The girl's eyes seemed to dance as she looked across his face, "will you?" Her brow furrowed; where was he? Where was the boy she met yesterday? Ai caught sight of his Kazekage hat hanging on the back of his chair and sighed; what made her think she could ever mean more to him? She had been a foo.

"Of course." Ai finally spoke.

"Good." A moment of silence. The dancing girl fiddled with her bracelet so the stones caught some of the light in the office. She looked up to him and spoke without a hint of emotion:

"What is it you will have me do for you, Kazekage?"

"Seduce Nobutara." Silence.

"The prince?" Her voice lacked its usual sing-song-like quality for she spoke so bluntly.

"Yes." He hardly let her finish. "You are to tell no one of our meeting and become close to him instead." Ai nodded. "Arrange a performance, go to him afterwards, seduce him-."

"Might I ask why I need to do this? It will be easier to interrogate if I know my goals." Ai spoke over him, she didn't want to hear it, she didn't want to hear about her work just now. Not from him.

"The Akatsuki is moving, I trust you know who they are?" The woman in lemon yellow nodded, her earrings tinkling as she did. "We believe the royals have some connection to them." Ai smiled a little; _soboku-sa (such naivety), _she thought.

"You would be wrong." Ai advised him and the two looked at each other. Studying each other, wondering why they were here, in this moment, back to petty bickering when all they wanted was to go back to the night before.

Ai had been raised to think about politics since childhood, Kage were merely men of war, put into a political position when deemed physically capable, what being strong had to do with politics she had no idea. Gaara was naive and easily influenced. He would be making a mistake by infiltrating Nobutara's council.

"Regardless of your opinion on the matter, we need to gather intel." Done. Finished. That was it. The Kazekage had spoken. Picked her up from one place and put her in another Fine. Finished. Done. "Will you help me?" Ai stood and smiled the smile she was taught years ago.

"Of course." She bowed to him.

"Then go. " He said finally. "We will meet in secret to discuss what you have found." Ai, in her frustration, had already begun to walk away from him. As she opened the door she glanced back to Gaara.

"Goodbye, Kazekage." He said nothing as she walked out and shut the door.

Gaara put his head in his hands and pulled at his hair out of frustration; why did things have to be this way? Why could he not be honest with her? Why could he not ask her if she too wanted him and only him? Was he being naive, foolish, gullible? Was he falling for a courtesan's trick? The young Kazekage was once more unsure of himself, distrusting of his own judgements.

Unbeknownst to Gaara, Ai remained stood, leaning against the wood of his office door, half-begging for him to call her back. But he did not. Against all odds, against everyone's judgements Ai had gone to him last night in a hope to see he felt the same as her but it was clearly a ruse to permit himself to sleep with her. She almost laughed; how could she have been so gullible? She walked away from him.

* * *

**Reviews appreciated!**


	12. The Prince

**_The Prince_**

* * *

_Gaara?_

The Kazekage looked up as his name was whispered on the breeze that swept through his office. He waited a moment, his eyes darting this way and that, wondering who it was that whispered his name. But his office was empty; the only movement was the rustling of leaves that belonged to a pot plant, put next to his door by Temari. He thought no more of it and went back to his work.

_I know you can hear me, Gaara. _

He sighed; of course he knew the voice well, for it was a part of him since birth, it had spoken to him more than any human being for the demon was his only company in his lonely and desperate childhood. But Shukaku had not been speaking as much or as loudly over these last few years following Gaara's attempt to quieten the biju. Of late, however, it was proving difficult to shut him up. Gaara spoke to himself:

"It is unlike you, Shukaku, to talk nowadays without being addressed by me; perhaps you are forgetting the way we left things-"

_The way YOU left things, you heartless boy! Cooping me up in here, without a moment for me to defend myself. It's positively sickening the way you've treated me. ME the demon-_

_"_Get to the point, please; I have a lot of work to do now, I'm-"

_Kazekage now! Oh yes, I keep forgetting in the moments you take for air before scolding me again-_

"SHUKAKU." Without even realising it, Gaara had entered the plane on which he and Shukaku communicated face-to-face. He had materialised in front of the demon's cage so quickly, that Shukaku jumped back at the sight of him and trembled in the cage Gaara crafted for him. "Do not test my patience. What do you want?"

Gaara's subconscious was a dark, cold place, it took the form of his childhood bedroom; the place where he and Shukaku first became acquainted. He had built this setting in his mind and housed the demon in a large, sealed cage that seemed to hover in empty space where his bedroom door should have been. The crimson-haired shinobi stood in his room, amidst the horrible white light, surrounded by soft toys and presents, to face his biju who was curled up like a ball in his cage, his tail curling over his eyes to hide himself from the Kazekage. Gaara stood at the edge of the carpet where it faded away to the darkness which housed Shukaku.

The biju lifted his tail and saw that nonchalant, disinterested expression on Gaara's face and, out of frustration, moved viper-quick up to the bars of his cage, pushing his face against the red wood that imprisoned him. The wood strained and cracked against the pressure Shukaku put on the cage for he hurled himself at the ninja who kept him here, with all his might. His large black eyes bulged out of the space between the wooden bars, each eye the size of Gaara's skull, looking on at that arrogant jinchuriki with distaste. "Why did you send her away?!" The demon bellowed and shook the cage violently. It took a moment for Gaara to realise what the beast was asking and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Ai?" He asked and Shukaku whined.

"Yes!" The sand monster screeched, forcing Gaara to put a hand up to his eye and wince.

"Stop making that noise, it's irritating." As he spoke, Shukaku reduced his whine to a whimper. "My actions are no concern of yours." Those dark eyes flashed as the monster huffed, clearly unsatisfied with the answer, before he retreated back into the darkness. "What makes you think I would let her remain in my company, with you screeching her name every time I see her?" Shukaku's tail became limp and rubbed the ground as though the monster had become coy.

"I only wanted to speak with her." The biju protested. Gaara folded his arms.

"Of course you did," he replied sarcastically, "that was evident in the remarks you made about her skin and blood." There was a moment of silence before Shukaku whispered:

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone in those thoughts." The demon smirked.

"I wouldn't let you anywhere near her." The shinobi spoke loudly and at his words, the racoon-like monster stirred, his voice became deep and gentle:

"You care for her?" Shukaku asked. Gaara folded his arms with impatience.

"I care for anyone more than I care for your bloodlust." He retorted and let no emotion show on his face at all but Shukaku could see, in Gaara's gait, in his eyes, in the confident way he stood there, barely breathing, that something was new.

"No," Shukaku whispered, "…something's different about this one-"

"Be quiet." The Kaekage interrupted so quickly that Shukaku knew he hit a nerve. More than that, the demon pondered, this idiot of a boy didn't even know what he was getting himself into. Shukaku raised his head and gave a sickly smile.

"You," Shukaku's smirk widened to a deathly grin and his shoulders began to shake as he held in laughter at Gaara's ignorance.;"you don't know who she is, do you?" Try as he might, Gaara found it difficult to control his emotions; unwillingly he unfolded his arms and took a pose as though he were ready to fight.

"I'm not interested in your lies." Gaara said heatedly.

"Ahahahaha," Shukaku's booming laugher flooded Gaara's head, "you fool: caught Love staring you in the face and you dismiss her because she's a whore-"

"I dismissed her because of you!" Gaara tried to speak over the demon who was now rolling around in his cage in blissful satisfaction. "And she's a courtesan, not a whore-"

"So she can rattle off a bit of rhetoric; you're still paying for her aren't you?!" Shukaku bellowed through his laughter.

"I've had enough of this." Gaara said, shaking his head. As he felt himself sucked up back into reality, leaving the biju in his subconscious, he continued to hear Shukaku's taunts:

_Ahahahaha, she came to him as bold as a full moon on a cloudless night and he sends her away! AHAHAHA!_

Gaara snapped his eyes open, shook his head, looked around his office to make sure he was not disorientated, and went back to work. Shukaku continued to murmur and laugh in the pauses the Kazekage took from his work. The one tails was such a nuisance and continued to be one for the rest of the day.

* * *

"The Kazekage threw her out of his room, can you imagine?"

"I don't understand why she doesn't just give up and go back to the Tea House. Give Akina house a chance. We have decent performers."

"You know what Megumi is like; she only ever sings Ai's praises. Like the girl was dropped on Earth by the Creator himself: _Ai is destined for Kage and royalty_. It takes more than a pretty face-"

"Or a virgin."

"To seduce someone like the Kazekage. I think Gaara must have a very specific taste in women, that's why he got rid of her-"

"Years of being a psychopath and social embarrassment are bound to have given him some strange fetishes."

"To be fair, I can think of a few women who would happily indulge him." The giggles and rumours that drifted in through Ai's open window did nothing to console her. She was frustrated, torn, embarrassed and ashamed of what she had lead herself to believe. Gaara had played her for a fool and the shinobi had won. Ai had to forget about him, she had to leave him behind, in the depths of her mind and focus on the task at hand.

The dancer glanced up into her mirror and gave herself a reassuring look; seduce Nobutara, get Gaara the information that didn't exist (for she knew straight away the royals were not involved with the Akatsuki, only an idiot would think otherwise), report back to the Kazekage and leave the palace. Her gaze lowered from the mirror; leave the palace. Leave _him_ behind.

"Ready?" Ai looked up again to see her teacher's reflection, stood by her door. Megumi walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, lowered herself into the reflection in the mirror alongside Ai and smiled.

"You are so beautiful; Gaara is a fool for giving you up- ah!" Megumi gasped quietly as Ai shrugged her away and finished putting blush on her cheeks.

"Gaara is a fool regardless." Ai snapped impatiently and put her blusher brush back down on the table, before standing and correcting one of her three necklaces. Each pearl necklace was a different length to give the illusion of a single tiered necklace. She wore it with a dress the lightest shade of lilac and red lips, for what are more enticing, to calm the wild and wondering minds of men, than red lips? The colours, against her snow-white skin and raven-black hair, made her eyes look like crystal and her lips look like rosebuds.

As Ai was escorted out of her room with Megumi and they took the stairs down to one of the many courtyards in the palace, heads turned, whispers swept about the pair like butterflies. There was the girl who made the Kazekage create such a frenzy, before he abandoned her for more experienced women. Or: there was the girl who had seduced the demon, Gaara, before setting her sights on royalty. Either way, it did not paint a delicate picture of either of the pair, but Ai was determined to do her job well and finally be rid of these palace walls.

The courtyard she entered was smaller than the other she had danced in for it was the prince's private courtyard in the palace. It had those same white pillars shimmering like moonstone in the twilight hours, and white doves that fluttered around her as she entered. Megumi retreated to the darkness of the palace and left Ai to walk into the centre of the courtyard as though it were a stage, her anklets the only sound echoing in the stony square.

"I was a little surprised to receive an invitation to see you, Ai." At the sound of her name, Ai stole a sideways glance into the corridor that was housed by the pillars to see the prince stood, leaning lazily against the stone. She turned to him fully and smiled before bowing.

"I believe I am indebted to you, your highness," she replied and stood to her full height. The prince nodded and took a seat beside a low table. Ai sat before him, shimmering, glittering, sparkling as though the diamonds she wore were already dancing for her. The prince and courtesan looked on at each other with curiosity; both sat in colours near-white, feeling as though the outside world were forgotten, watching one another for a chance to glimpse a smile.

Nobutara was different to any royal she had ever encountered; good looking and good natured, his stare arrested all her thoughts. What would it be like, she wondered to be with someone so….simple? So beautiful and unaffected?

A harp struck a note, breaking her reverie but she did not break eye contact as she sat before the Prince and blood-red lips parted for her to sing:

"A weightless kite, a starling, I drifted through the sky at night.

The scent of jasmine on my hair lifted up to the stars

As I swayed, lost in a flurry of starlight and moonbeams,

My sight caught hold of him and he locked unto my heart.

I found a fellow traveller, waiting, like me, for someone.

Hoping, like me, for someone.

At his gaze, the night stilled, the breeze that carried me to heaven was extinguished,

And like a fallen star, I fell down to Earth, only to be caught by him.

After moments, barely breathing, barely swaying,

He heard destiny call his name for greater things.

He wove his black magic into the kohl of my eyes

And like the moon, I was alone again." There was a dip in the music as though someone struck the wrong note; the musicians were waiting for Ai to sing the next line but something had stopped her. As the harp player lead the rest of her accompanying ensemble, Ai's head tilted to the sky and shot the moon a look of distaste. There was a figure watching from a distance and her eyes narrowed on him. Unmistakably, unashamedly, the Kazekage stood watching from a higher floor.

Infuriated, is not a word that does justice to the way Ai felt, as she watched Gaara watch her. Angry questions tumbled, stumbled over each other into her mind as she took a breath to stop herself from calling him out from his hiding place. Did he not think she was capable of doing her job? This was courtesan territory, this mission was hers alone. Gaara: so controlling, so unyielding, so overbearing. That fool was more trouble than he was worth.

The musicians, who were looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes, were all wondering if the usually flawless performer had forgotten her own song but as they looked on they became aware that Ai had not forgotten the song, she was changing it. Bringing her right hand to meet her right ankle, she began tapping on the chains that bound he feet. She was changing the rhythm of the song and the musicians, who knew Ai well, followed her lead and seamlessly, an untrained eye or ear could never tell, the song changed. The drumbeat echoed over the harps now, filling the courtyard with something like a war song, signalling attack. The tinkling of chimes and anklets no longer sprinkled over the song as though floating through the breeze towards the audience; each tap, each jingle of a bell seemed purposeful, defined, awake.

The Prince, who assumed the last few moments had all been for dramatic effect, leaned in a little to see Ai almost scoff in disbelief before continuing the performance:

"Wanderer, abandon any false pretension that you have scarred me," even the way she sang changed. No longer was she the nightingale, no longer was there a sweetness to every note she sang; her of; her voice was filled to the brim with an arrogance.

"Once we met I tied a thread of fate to you, of debt to you,

So your heart will not release its intoxication of me.

Each moment passes you is coiled with sighs of your lonesome nature.

Nights without me will see you restless

My eyes may be filled with your curse but you are left with nothing but the sight of me;

Your want of me will drive you to madness and see you search above heaven for the girl you swore was the moon." The dancer scoffed and tore her gaze away from the sky..

"As though I would be wrapped in some dark cloud of the monsoon,

As though the night could hold me.

Search beneath the oceans, wanderer, you may find some trace of my beauty there.

You are wounded by my affection, dear one, handsome one, dark one.

Accede to your devotion of me and I will unlock our last night from your eyes.

Freedom and imprisonment come in the form of Love, dear one."

The drum beat stopped, the harps struck their last note that seemed to carry on into the night as though they were perplexed and undue of how to stop themselves. Nobutara stood and watched the girl as she seemed to shake her head at someone on a higher floor. What a strange turn the song took; almost as though Ai had performed a song half-written, as though the tale had not reached its true ending.

What a strange, beautiful, elusive creature she was. So full of fire and sweetness and ache; the courtesan stirred the curiosity of many and the Prince found that he too had been caught under her spell. The man stood as the musicians exited the courtyard and Ai rose to her feet slowly, her coyness came back to her as she looked a little flustered.

"As much as I appreciated your poetry, Ai," she jerked in surprise for, as the prince spoke, he turned away from her and began to walk back into his room, "I believe it was a bangle, that was owed to me." Ai took a quick glance up to the floor that Gaara was on but he had vanished. Good, she thought, with him out of the way she could do what she was sent here to do. Ai took a breath and followed the prince, walking by swaying her hips in a slow deliberate manner.

Once he was in the room, Nobutara turned back to her and sat on the end of his bed, watching her approach him. Ai entered the room and stole a hidden glance around; everything about him was golden, rich and warm. From the lavish silk bedsheets he so cooly lounged on, to the colour in his eyes, so dark and arresting. Ai smiled at him from his doorway before lifting her left hand up to her face. Everything was thought out, every careful movement, every delicate glance, was seduction and Ai was accomplished in it.

With her elbow lifted, she left her left hand hang limp besides her face. Nobutara leant back and sighed a little as he found he could not focus on the gold bangles on her wrist when they were placed so close to her red lips. Ai kept her gaze lowered, on her bangles and gently, began to slip them off her wrist with her other hand. The sound of them clattering on the marble floor seemed to make the candles in the room quiver in fear for they flickered and shimmered on her face as the prince watched her.

When Ai's wrist was bare, she finally looked up to him.

"They are yours," she whispered.

"And you?" What a commanding, authoritative voice he had. The courtesan took of a brooch that was placed on her shoulder and the silk she wore slipped from her figure, caressing her curves as it fell to the floor.

"Yours."

* * *

Sleeping with the prince was not at all how Ai had expected. It still hurt, she was unsurprised by that but his manners, the way he treated her, was shocking. Nobutara was playful, slow and affectionate; it was almost as though sex came second to spending time with her. They spoke and laughed while he held her hand and kissed her neck. He seemed to adore her, to be completely at ease and happy. The Prince even made her giggle with kisses and bites as he explored her body. Sex with him was fun and not as intense as her first time, Ai relaxed in his arms and even smiled when he felt bad that sex was too painful to see her climax. What a strange man, that he should care for her pleasure.

They slept soon after and before she drifted into dreams Ai confirmed her plans in her head; she would question him at breakfast.

* * *

"AI!?"

"Ah!" Ai woke with a start to the sound of her name being screamed. She sat bolt upright, the sound of her heart pounding in her chest was flooding her ears as she strained to listen for him again. She was breathing heavily, shaking with shock, looking around the dark room as though Gaara was near her.

But there was nothing. No one. The room was empty except for her and Nobutara who lay soundlessly asleep, unperturbed by the shout she was so sure she heard. But the silence stretched on, her heart slowed, her breathing returned to normal. She glanced to the prince who lay beside her, his dark hair flopped onto his handsome face in a way that made her smile.

Ai's smirk faded as she thought of the shout she heard; perhaps it was a dream? Perhaps Gaara had not called out for her? She threw off the bedsheets and got out of the bed slowly, being careful not to wake Nobutara. Once up, she walked to the full length mirror that sparkled in the corner of the room and placed her white night robe on. She needed fresh air, it would be fine to step out into the courtyard at this time.

She stole a glance at the mirror and pushed her hair to one side. Ai stood in the silvery light of the moon and looked at herself as though to reassure her that she was not going mad. Her robe was made of an opaque white chiffon, figureless but almost dreamlike, the soft waves of white silk flowed around her. The material was pinned by a silver brooch in between her breasts, giving the robe a very low neck which Ai had always liked but never been allowed to wear. She sighed as she retreated from the mirror and walked out into Nobutara's courtyard.

The night air was crisp and cool as she took a deep breath; this is what she needed, a moment just to clear her h-

Ai's thoughts of relaxation were interrupted as she came across an unusual sight on the palace balconies opposite her, a few floors up. The lights were on. Dark figures were running back and forth, on closer inspection they were shinobi. It was the middle of the night, what were they all doing up at this hour? Ai took a step forwards and strained her eyes to see in the darkness that the shinobi were all carrying scrolls. Red ribbons with lead weights on the ends, tied the scrolls together. That was generally how sealing scrolls were fastened. Why would they have sealing scrolls on them?

Ai's breathing stopped all at once. That was the Kazekage's quarters she was looking at.

It took a moment for her brain to fully comprehend what was happening.

"Gaara." She whispered before picking up the skirt of her robe and running.

* * *

**Reviews appreciated. **

**Was fun seeing Shukaku in this chapter. Was more fun seeing Gaara tell him off. Awwww.**


	13. Overdose: Tie Me to Dusk

**Well, this is ****confusing: chapter 14 has been deleted. The lemon from chapter 14 is now at the end of this chapter.**

**I received some negative feedback and realised that the fic is moving far too slow. I would've got the hint earlier if anyone ever bothered to review. I joke. I find it hilarious how poorly this fic is doing. **

**So for those who are regular visitors to this story- welcome back, nothing has changed (apart from the added zest) and for those who are new here- welcome! Don't worry about leaving a review, apparently it's more polite not to clutter my review page. IT'S HILARIOUS. LAUGH WITH ME.**

* * *

**_Overdose/ Tie Me to Dusk_**

There was something in the dead silence of the night that seemed ominous to her. As Ai walked into the Kazekage's quarters, she noticed the candles flicker in fear upon hearing the distant shouts of shinobi. Even Ai could feel it, in her bones, licking around her legs as though trying to catch her; Shukaku's intent flooded the palace with eerie malcontent. The beast was in the shadows, clawing at the walls to get to blood, seeping itself out of Gaara's soul.

As Ai approached the corridor that lead to Gaara's room, she began to hear a rumble, no, a buzzing, a humming in the air, deep and endless, it was a sound she had heard before and it struck a note of fear in her.

The hall outside the Kazekage's room was in chaos; shinobi were running around in a frenzied attempt to get things under control. There were a group of ninja stood at the entrance to the Kazekage's bedroom, Kankuro included, all looked as though they were hesitating before going in to battle. Baki, Kankuro, and three other palace guards seemed to be waiting to enter Gaara's room.

The courtesan walked down the corridor with such confidence that no one dared ask her what she was doing there. Heads turned as men caught sight of those red lips, the thin white gown, those crystal blue eyes, before they remembered where they were and returned to their impending tasks. Ninja ran past her, shouting to one another for new sealing scrolls, cursing themselves for not acting sooner. Ai glided through the mess, to make her way to Gaara's bedroom door. That buzzing she heard earlier was getting louder. It was a familiar and foreboding noise. Where had she heard it before?

"Ai!" Kankuro exclaimed upon seeing the dancer come and stand next to him. "What are you doing here?" But Ai was not listening, she was staring, wide-eyed, at the bizarre and terrifying scene before her.

The Kazekage's figure was barely visible through a wall of spinning sand. The source of the humming heard in the corridor was the sand whipping through the air at such a rapid pace. It was also what was preventing Kankuro and the other ninja from entering the room to help the Kazekage. Clumps of sand were whizzing around the bedroom, around Gaara's figure, marring any view of him. The Kazekage looked like a washed out silhouette, stood, frighteningly silent and unmoving, by his dresser. Gaara's ultimate defence was preventing him from being saved, a bittersweet irony that left Ai's mind racing; what to do, what to do?

"What happened?" She asked Kankuro who frowned as he saw Ai reach across him and remove, from a pile of equipment placed there by other sand shinobi, a kunai. Did she have a plan?

"Gaara lost control. I don't know what- what are you doing?!" Kankuro shouted at her as Ai took the kunai in her right hand and cut the tip of her ring finger on her left hand. Blood trickled like a firework from her skin and Ai held out her bloodied finger to the sand. "Are you mad?" Kankuro grabbed her arm and held her back.

"No." Ai withdrew her arm from his grip and looked at him with such determination that Kankuro did not stop her when she held out her hand to the sand again. Almost as though the glittering mass had a life of its own, it seemed to sense her presence and began to part, making an entrance for her. Sand seemed to rush towards her arm before sensing something and missing the girl by inches. Kankuro and Baki looked on in confusion; why was Shukaku letting Ai through? She lowered her arm as though satisfied with her hypothesis. "I need to borrow some chakra," Ai exclaimed suddenly and Kankuro looked startled for a moment before nodding; she seemed to know what she was doing.

"Jin," he called and another Shinobi came to stand with Ai and Kankuro upon hearing his name. He glanced at Ai in confusion before remembering himself and standing to attention in front of the puppet master.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Let Ai borrow some chakra."

"Of course," Jin held out his hand for Ai to perform a medical ninjutsu but before he even had time to register what was was going on, Ai whispered her thanks and swiped her bleeding fingertip across his forehead. "Wha-?!" Ai put her hand up to his forehead.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu (summoning jutsu)_," Ai whispered and in seconds kanji began to unfurl from beneath her hand and scatter themselves across Jin's skin in the familiar summoning circle that the shinobi recognised. But before anyone could figure out what was happening, Jin collapsed.

Shinobi ran forward in alarm and helped to hold him up, as he stirred on the brink of consciousness. "He will be fine in a few hours, just let him rest." The dancer murmured but had already turned away. The ninja were all too shocked to say or do much else, many of them helped to escort Jin to the sickbay but Kankuro and Baki watched the dancer with a keen eye. Before Jin collapsed, Ai had summoned a sealing scroll and snatched it as it appeared in the air before his forehead. She then began to unfasten the scroll.

Kankuro's eyes narrowed on the sealing scroll in her hands and he raised an eyebrow; she had performed a jutsu without weaving a single sign. The boy with the painted face did not know whether he should be shocked or impressed.

Beside Kankuro stood his teacher, Baki, who shook his head as though he could not comprehend what was happening. Her jutsu and the scroll were written in _jōdai nihongo (old Japanese). _Being older and wiser, the ninja knew that there were only a few people left who can read or write it. Another thought occurred to him as he watched her: _only a had full of other beings can understand the text, namely-_

"Shukaku!" Ai shouted through the sand.

_Biju. This girl could communicate with tailed beasts in a language no one could understand?_

Both Baki and Kankuro watched in awe as the courtesan made the spinning wall of sand part like curtains to form an opening through which she could walk.

"Ai!" Kankuro shouted in alarm but, before Ai stepped through, she cocked her head back to him.

"Shukaku won't hurt me."

"How can you be so sure?" Baki asked.

"He wants me alive." Those blue eyes flashed before the girl mistaken for moonbeams, walked toward death.

Ai entered the room with a quiet determination; she must not show Shukaku any trace of fear or he would snuff her out in the breath of his sigh. She walked into darkness, the room was eerily quiet considering the sound the sand made to the outside world. But in here, in this bubble he created, Gaara was God. Controller of sound, sand and Ai herself; she found herself unmovable at the sight of him.

Gaara was stood against the wall opposite his bed, his head tilted upwards, brow dripping with sweat from the effort it was taking to calm the blood lust. It was his breathing that caught her attention. Shuddering and deep, as though trying to control himself, as though he were mere moments away from going completely insane from the want, from the ache that was burning in his blood. He stood in the moonlight, in his dark trousers, thrashing his head this way and that, his nails scraping the wall behind him, running through his hair and tugging at it as he closed his eyes and faced the ceiling. His torso, his beautifully defined physique, trembling and clenching in the moonlight.

The courtesan stood, transfixed. Was she breathing? Was she even there? It was hard to tell. Without warning, Gaara flung his head forwards, pulled roughly at his crimson locks and cried out, alerting Ai to her own existence. The girl jumped and the movement was noticed by the demon boy. His hands shaking, his lip quivering, his breathing tiring, Gaara lowered his hands, stood straight and looked directly at her.

"Ai?"

She took a breath.

It was insane that something inside of her should shake and vibrate with such intensity, upon hearing Gaara say her name like he wanted her. The two teenagers caught each other in what felt was a moment of silence. The sand around them had halted and instead formed a wall between them and the shinobi outside.

Ai stood, in a white robe so thin Gaara could make out every inch of her curves, every mouthwatering, lick-able, fuck-able part of her. He gritted his teeth, keeping Shukaku at bay for just a few moments longer so he could take in her face. Her eyes were dancing, as though wanting to drink in every part of him. Her lips, he had to close his eyes, Gods, why did she have to have red lips? They were glistening, they were shimmering for him, ready for her to get on her knees and open her mouth-

"Aaaah!" Gaara groaned and put a hand up to cover his right eye, as though something were paining in his head.

Ai had come to rescue him but she had no recollection of her task. That lustful, reckless smile he had, Gaara, not Shukaku, drove her mad. It pained her, it frustrated her, it made her want to scream, push him up against the wall and feel his bare skin on hers. The kunai was slipping from her grip, her knees were going weak, for Gaara was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had ever known. Those dark rimmed opal eyes grabbed a hold of her and kept her prisoner. He was her escape, Gaara controlled this world she stepped into. And she seemed to have stepped straight into him.

"AAAAH!" Gaara yelled and bent forwards, both hands back in his hair, screaming as though in agony. The sight of him in pain alerted the girl. Ai remembered herself and grasped the kunai and sealing scroll in her right hand. She held her left hand, her bloodied ring finger, out to him.

"Gaara," She whispered. Gaara's arms dropped to his side as the pain left him, he stood, almost lazily, upright and looked at her. Shukaku was quieting, relaxing, upon hearing her presence, he allowed Gaara a moment of freedom from the demon's torture. The Kazekage squinted in the darkness to see, as Ai walked towards him, her hand become illuminated by the moonlight. His eyes narrowed on her ring finger.

"What…?" Gaara asked uncertainly, barely finishing his sentence, tired from the effort it took to fight his biju.

"_Boshu (offering),_" Ai whispered in response and smiled a little as she saw Gaara shudder. She was offering him her blood. He smirked and as she approached she kept a close eye on his movement for any indication that Shukaku might attack. But the one tails seemed to be calm as she came towards him.

Gaara did not notice Ai drop the kunai or sealing scroll from which she had removed two tags. His eyes were fixated with her fingertip, it was wet and warm with the smallest cut and trickle of blood. Like honey dripping over the rim of a jar, waiting to be licked, waiting for someone who was in need of something sticky and sweet. And the Kazekage was entirely in need of her. That boy looked at her as though she stood for everything he had ever wanted; his eyes were tired, full of adoration and hunger, beckoning Love into his arms.

The warrior opened his mouth gently as she approached, with a look that gave Ai a strange urge to open her mouth and kiss him instead. But the courtesan stayed true to her task and Gaara reached out his hand to grasp hers, before tugging her closer and taking her finger into his mouth. Gaara lapped at her finger greedily, almost purring. Ai took the opportunity, while he was distracted to, with her free hand, take one of his hands an place it above him, against the wall, before sticking it in place with one of the sealing tags- binding his wrist to the wall with the paper. She pushed into him as she did it so his back hit the wall and when it did he became aware of the trick she had played and looked up to his wrist in alarm. The Kazekage's eyes narrowed and Shukaku's screeching began as he saw the seal had him pinned to the wall. He still had one hand free, Gaara could snap that wretched moonbeam like a twig-

"Ah," Gaara gasped softly into her mouth as Ai pushed up against him and kissed him deeply. He barely had moments to register what was happening; his free hand snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. He begged Ai to open her mouth a little do he could taste her, like he had been longing to since he sent her away. But Ai had planned ahead and with him once more distracted, she took the other sealing tag and placed it on his neck. "AH!" Gaara pushed Ai away and she fell out of his embrace, onto the floor. The kunai fell from her hand and slid along the floor, away from her.

Shukaku cried out in pain as the tag seemed to dissolve into Gaara's skin. The boy himself whined and screamed as though in agony as he used his free hand to cradle his head which felt as though it were about to explode. Shukaku was clawing at his insides, desperately trying not to be pushed back into the darkness but the seal was too strong. The kanji from the paper seemed to burn into his skin and dissolve. In an instant, the demon was gone.

The young Kazekage stood, one hand above his head, bound to the wall, his other covering his right eye as he stood hunched, trying to regain his breath. His dark red hair fell, plastered to his brow from the sweat he had worked up. His breathing was heavy, his back heaving until, finally, he stood upright and licked his lips at her.

They stared at each other; how would he react to her rescue? Gaara looked the girl up and down before sighing as though defeated.

"You wrote these seals?" He asked as though he already knew the answer. Ai nodded. "Come to me, Ai." Gaara asked her so sweetly and held his free arm out to welcome her. The dancer smiled and was about to oblige when the wall of sand between the Kazekage's room and the outside world disappeared, unveiling the goings on in his room. Ai paused as the sand fell, not sure of what instructions Gaara would give her when in sight of his council.

"Gaara, you alright?" She heard Kankuro call. The courtesan and Kazekage did not look away from each other. Both were trying to figure the other one out. Wondering what move to make, who would go first, where they would place each other.

"Yes," Gaara called back into the darkness beyond the room. No shinobi would enter the Kazekage's room without being called upon, so Kankuro waited to hear from the girl. "Ai is going to show me how she wrote the seals," he continued, "everything is fine. Please go to bed." Outside the room, Kankuro and Baki exchanged a look.

"Very well, Kazekage," Baki called and cleared the hallway outside the room. A small breeze flew through the room and shut the Kazekage's door. Leaving Ai and Gaara waiting for one another in the darkness. Their eyes never left each other.

"Come to me, Ai." Gaara asked her again and, with a small smirk, the girl took a step into his embrace. She was expecting him to be rough, to pull and tug at her as he usually did but the Kazekage simply held her and rested his head on her shoulder. He was tired and did not have the strength to keep his guard up around her. Ai was becoming too familiar to him; she was becoming his friend.

That wretched moonbeam fit into his embrace well and placed her hands up upon his bare chest, feeling how broad, how stiff, how heroic his figure was. Ai was denying to herself that she were a little disappointed in receiving only a hug but smiled nonetheless as he lifted his head from her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Remove the seal." He whispered suddenly and Ai moved back a little and smirked before glancing up to his hand. Gaara had his hands on her hips and moved in to kiss her as she leant back. But then he noticed her smile. "What's funny?" He asked with no trace of amusement but something inside of him adored her smile. Ai took a step away from him, pushing him away with one hand.

"Do _I _have the great Kazekage at my mercy?" Her smile broadened and she giggled as Gaara tried to move towards her but was constrained to the wall. He looked back at his hand and growled before glancing back to Ai who tiled her head at him. "Has Sabuko no Gaara been so easily defeated?" The courtesan said in her song-like voice, her blue eyes sparkled up at him in the moonlight.

"You think a paper seal is going to contain me?" The ninja growled at her, standing to his full height, towering above her. But Ai did not cower; her love of mischief, of teasing him, kept a smirk on her face.

"I wrote it; it is unbreakable to those who do not know the dead language." As she spoke, her smile faded for she felt something winding around her middle. She gasped in alarm for when she looked to her midriff, she saw, snaking its way around her, was sand. "Ah!" Ai gasped as the sand that captured her pulled her down onto her knees in front of its master. Gaara bent down to her so he were mere inches from her face.

"I'm bigger than you, Ai." He whispered, enjoying the smirk fading from her face, to be replaced by a look of fear. Her eyes darting from his gaze to his lips and back again. Gaara was so intense in the way he appraised her; he did not need the sand to bring Ai to her knees for him. "Let me out of this." He whispered. Ai had a few moments of trying to wriggle free of the sand before deciding she had no choice. Begrudgingly, Ai lifted her right hand and formed half of the tiger hand sign.

"_Kai (release)." _She whispered and dropped her hand and gaze in defeat as the seal pinning Gaara to the wall seemed to vanish. The Kazekage stood straight and as his hand fell from the wall, he rubbed his wrist. "Now let me free," Ai protested as Gaara stood there, idly massaging his hand. He glanced down to her and shrugged before walking off, leaving an open-mouthed Ai staring after him.

"_Let me free._" Ai said, louder, indignantly as though she could not believe she had to ask twice.

"Why?" Gaara asked nonchalantly, rubbing his wrist, looking around his room for his shirt.

"What do you mean _why_?" The girl cried but was immediately silenced as Gaara turned back to her, half in the shadows and leant against his desk.

"Why not keep you here, like this?" The Kazekage bowed his head a little but kept his glistening eyes on Ai. He stood lazily and walked over to her, all previous thoughts of finding his clothing forgotten; a chance to see that look on her face again, was too hard to resist. The boy with eyes that arrested so many women, walked over to the girl he thought was so deliciously delicate, and stood in front of her.

Ai could not help herself, she had to drink in every inch of him; her eyes skimmed his face, his neck, his collar, his chest….they descended his frame as though hypnotised and did not stop at his belt buckle. The dancer had a fleeting fantasy about somehow undoing his belt with her teeth. Ai jumped as Gaara bent down to her, his gaze locking onto hers. The Kazekage put his hand beneath her chin, tilted her beautiful face towards him and ran his thumb down her lips, opening her mouth as he dragged her bottom lip downwards. Gaara looked at her as though fascinated.

"Why not keep you chained to me?" He whispered as though he were seriously considering the idea, looking into her eyes for any trace that she may say yes. Ai's chest was rising and falling rapidly, that boy was sending shivers down her spine, all over her, waking her up. "Like the moon is bound to the darkness; why not tie you to dusk and make the moon whole, every night?" Her eyes were caught on his lips. She gulped; speech left her as Gaara nodded, content with his plan, his thumb still brushing her bottom lip. "Would you happily sacrifice your freedom to me, Ai?" _Yes. _

Ai scoffed. "Your princely upbringing has made you a fool," she protested, that fire, that mischief, flooding her eyes and she tilted her chin at him as though daring him to say more. "As though you could steal me from the nigh-" She was stopped short as Gaara got onto his knees and kissed her softly.

Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she smiled into his kiss and closed her eyes. As she melted into him, Gaara wrapped his arms around her and brought Ai into his about him was dark, his crimson hair, those rims around his eyes, the way he looked at her, the lust he had for her. Dark. But so inviting and Ai wanted nothing more to get lost inside that darkness with him. To be tied to him.

The Kazekage remained on his knees, a strong pillar of resilience, letting only his lips and tongue move into her. As soon as the sand let her go, Ai poured herself over him like water, like water thirsting for the ocean, she opened her mouth for him and gasped in delight as Gaara licked her tongue. A spark of electricity passed between them as Gaara put both his hand on either side of her face and kissed her deeply.

Without even realising he had unpinned her robe, Ai felt the cold of the night around her shoulders as the white silk fell to the floor. Gaara's attention moved from her mouth to her neck and shoulders. The smell of her skin, the feel of it, soft and warm, her fragrance drifting up in the heat between them, drove him mad. To Gaara, insanity was nothing new, desire was nothing new but there was something, something in this girl that brought him close to an overdose.

_Why is it, beyond all encumbrances, we always end up on our knees for each other? Why can't I shake you? My faith, my sin, my addiction, my release; why do they all answer to your name? Why has everything become you? _

Ai's head hit the soft carpet of Gaara's bedroom as he laid her down on to the floor. The Kazekage was so calm and gentle with her; she looked up at him anxiously for she could not rid herself of the image of Gaara with that blood-thirsty look, lapping at her finger as though eager to drink her. But that blood-thirsty boy looked down to her with such warm, confident affection, that it made her beating heart slow its pace.

His hair ruffled in the night breeze and the moonlight fell around him like the light of a halo. Gaara reached down and brushed her cheek with his knuckles as Ai looked up, her eyes misted over with the intoxication of lust; what was that look he was giving her? She had never seen it before. The boy leant down to her and kissed her cheek softly. His cool and calm demeanour frightened her; the dancer grasped the white silk that had fallen to the floor beneath her, as though she needed to hold on to the Earth for fear of being swept away by him. Gaara paused a mere inch from her lips and took a breath.

_What has become of me? _

Gaara leant in a little further and kissed her softly, pushing his full lips against hers. As he did, he moved between her legs and let his hips fall gently into her. Ai could not help but smile into their kiss as she felt how hard he was already and as she did, she saw Gaara smirk a little. She released the white silk from her grasp and placed both her hands on either side of his face. They looked into each other's eyes. Ai let her gaze search his face. Wondering if she should speak, wondering if he would listen. What was he thinking that he could not tell her? What thoughts was this boy so lost in?

The Kazekage stared back at the girl with the memories of every hurtful moment he had ever spent trying to tell anyone he loved them. How could he tell her how he felt? Even he did not understand it.

_I was Gaara. Once. Before you. _

Gaara took her hands away from his face and let them fall to her sides. He then knelt before her and placed both his hands on her waist, before he smoothed over her contour and cupped her breasts. Ai took a deep breath and her back stiffened as the Kazekage's thumbs glided over her nipples. She even smiled a little as the torturously gentle caress gave her little shivers of pleasure. Ai closed her eyes and tilted her head back as Gaara's tongue glided over her right breast. Her smile faded, her back began to peel away from the floor, her brow began to furrow, her hands were caught in his hair as the Kazekage licked and kissed and bit in his exploration of her.

_Now, your blood beats through my aching heart. _

That girl with the sapphire eyes bit her lip as Gaara's tongue began to work its way down her body, to her stomach where she giggled and writhed for release as Gaara held her hands down to prevent her from pushing him away. Her figure was so small and delicate compared to his. She was so breakable, so fragile, all he wanted was to keep her safe. The boy with hair the colour of blood, let his tongue taste every inch of her.

"Ah!" The sound that issued from Ai's mouth left all previous thoughts of safety and adoration forgotten. Gaara snapped his head back up to her and looked directly at her face to see Ai staring back at him with wide-eyes; shocked that a demon could treat her body like a flower of paradise. With a cruel, malicious smirk, the Kazekage licked his lips until they glistened in the moonlight and lowered himself to that spot that had caused Ai to gasp in such a deliciously weak and lustful manner. Between her slender legs, Gaara placed his moistened lips tenderly on her womanhood and gasped softly as he felt how wet she was. He let his tongue, flat and wide, glide along her lips and it was with one more delicate gasp from the courtesan, that Gaara realised holding back was not one of his strengths when it came to Ai.

_I was sleeping until woken by the taste of you._

In an instant, the world changed. The girl was shuddering, gasping for air, whimpering as though on the edge of death. The breeze of the night cooling her naked body as she arched her back and moaned, unraveling delight, twisting in anticipation, for what he was stirring inside of her. Torture. Unbearable, undeniable, Gaara sought out that side of her that would beg for him, that would do anything for him, that worshipped him.

The girl with the moonlike face grasped the white silk beneath her so tightly she heard it rip. She opened her eyes and looked to the ceiling as the Kazekage kissed her and let his tongue dart in between the lips of her womanhood, searching for that spot that she could feel was beginning to numb with pleasure. Whoever knew Gaara would be so talented?

"Ah!" Ai could not stand it any longer. Her legs were beginning to tremble, she could feel how creamy and warm it was were his tongue met her body. Every small flick of his tongue, every gentle bite, every long and wet lick he took, was drawing her closer into the darkness with him. Into that unreachable moment of ecstasy; she was there with him. With Gaara.

The dancer felt something inside of her pulse and spread across her body like a wildfire before her hips buckled and she grasped a handful of his hair.

"Gaara," Ai whispered his name as she came. Waves of pleasure washed over her, she writhed and moaned and gasped and bit her lip. Gaara moved away from her and sat on his knees. Watching her beautiful face screw up in sheer euphoria. Her body shivered and jerked like someone on the brink of death and Gaara watched in satisfaction as the heat of the bloodlust cooled. Watching the fight go out of her, watching her give in, surrendering to him, was what he craved.

As Ai's breathing returned to normal she opened her eyes and sat up. They looked at one another.

_I am no longer the man I was. _

Ai thew her arms around his neck and drew him into embrace. She kissed him so fiercely that they had to break apart and gasp for air. They put their foreheads together, eyes closed, breathing heavily and he asked:

"Sacrifice your freedom to me Ai." He commanded. Ai gulped and felt goosebumps all over her body as spoke.

"I am already chained to you, Gaara." She conceded and opened her eyes suddenly as Gaara stood and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her breast against his bare chest. The Kazekage moved across his room as Ai kissed his neck and shoulders, doing anything and everything to be close to him. "Ah!" Gaara did not put her gently on to his bed, instead he dropped her violently before removing his trousers. Ai gritted her teeth as Gaara stood, naked, powerful, the Controller of everything, so reckless, so roguish, so rough and razor-sharp.

The Kazekage pushed his courtesan to lie down, before turning her onto her side so her back was to him. Ai smiled; Gaara was so particular, so controlling in the way he fuck-

"AH!" Ai screamed as Gaara yanked her arm and twisted it behind her back. He went to lie down beside her and, with his free hand, pushed hair away from her neck and sank his teeth into her flesh. The girl winced; it was definitely Gaara's turn.

It seemed like he was massive compared to her; Gaara caged her as she parted her legs and he held tightly onto her with one hand on her hip and the other kept her arm twisted behind her back. Ai waited for the pain.

She groaned a little as he entered her. It was still painful. Would she ever get used to this? Wasn't this at some point supposed to be pleasurable for her too? Her thoughts were interrupted as Gaara thirst himself deeper inside of her sticky and welcoming warmth. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back in pleasure. She felt so good. How had he lived so long without this? As he slowly pulsed inside her, he released her arm and instead put one arm around her as though hugging her and pulled her hair with the other. As the Kazekage fucked her, he licked and bit her neck.

The dancer grasped the bedsheets and steadied herself with her now free arm. She winced at every inch of him, until, in half a heartbeat, something changed. As Gaara pushed up inside of her, Ai felt something deep inside the pain, something unimaginable and wonderful. She let him pull out and thrust again and when he did the girl opened her eyes in astonishment at this new feeling. The Kazekage was, for some reason, savouring every movement, going slow, and over the next few deep thrusts he gave her, the pleasure began to overcome the pain.

The demon boy noticed a change in Ai. It started with a moan. It issued from her soft lips like a breeze in the night, delicate and disbelieving. She began to part her legs a little wider, her head tiled back, her whole body moved into his, she pushed herself into him, she was getting wetter. Gaara propped himself up onto his elbow to watch in satisfaction as the whore inside of Ai came out.

She pushed her hips into him, bit her lip and licked them as her moaning became louder, as the ripples of pleasure became deeper. Ai reached back for him and pulled him by the neck towards her, panting as she did so, before she turned her face to him and kissed him. She moaned into his mouth at the pleasure his cock gave her. She smiled. So this was sex. Gaara withdrew from her kiss.

"Fuck me harder." She asked and the Kazekage obliged. The sealing tag Ai had placed on him quietened the biju until it was nonexistent and could not interfere in this raw and human moment they were in. But that did not mean that Gaara had changed. He was still as hungry for her to feel a little pain, he was still in desperate need to abuse her a little.

Gaara. So controlling. So demanding. He pinned Ai to the bed and fucked her until it hurt again. He pulled at her roughly and thrust his cock deep inside of her until he wrapped his arms around her and groaned as he climaxed inside of her. Letting each shiver of pleasure guide his hips, making the most out of her body before satisfaction was reached and the Kazekage moved away from her so he could lie on his back.

Ai rolled over so she could face him. She had a broad smile as she looked over to him.

"What is it?" He asked her and reached over to stroke her arm. Ai put her head on the pillow, her dark waves of hair falling upon the white sheets. She reached over to him and outlined his lips with her finger.

"You're good at this." She giggled as Gaara looked a little dumbfounded. Her smile faded and she closed her eyes. Gaara looked on at her and sighed. After a moments hesitation, he appraised her:

"Ai?" But the girl was already lost in dreams of him. The Kazekage, not one to be drawn into dreams, sat up and reached for his trousers before turning to look at her. She was so sweet, lost and lonely like him, in this world. He sighed and pulled a thin sheet over her body.

_I am no longer the man I was. _


	14. The Counsel of Others

I thought that to get y'all to understand the courtesan theme a bit more, I would recommend videos that you should feel free to check out. I'll probably give a video every few chapters or so and, if you are coming straight to this chapter, look back at the other chapters to see their newly added video recommendations. All of the videos will be from bollywood movies because that's the only place I have ever seen old school courtesans done properly and these videos are how I was taught. Not to be a courtesan, obviously, but to learn their style of language, dance etc.

This chapter's video is: **Devdas meets Chandramukhi**. If you youtube this phrase, there's a video with english subtitles.

Enjoy this chapter!

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**_The Counsel of Others_**

Gaara was a dreamless man for he never slept; a curse, given to him at birth, robbed him of the kind embrace of slumber. But what need was there to become lost in fantasies when she, who walked straight out of his wildest thoughts, lay content beside him?

The handsome man, once mistaken for a monster, looked over to Ai; watching the slow rising and falling over her chest, spying the curve of her long lashes as he blew gently to move a straying curl of hair from her lips.

Love stirred upon feeling the soft breeze against her skin and Gaara looked at her, almost hopeful that she would wake, but her eyes did not open. Ai frowned a little in a childish, sweet manner, before turning away from him. Gaara ran a hand through his hair and tugged at it a little; this was…everything felt…inevitable. Ai had spoken of a thread that tied them together, something deeper than either of them could control. The Kazekage, a rational man, a skeptic even, could not help but feel the tug of the divine thread of fate.

With a sigh, Gaara stood from his bed, put on his trousers and walked to his wardrobe. The sun was rising, he noticed the golden rays of light begin to pour into the room from behind his curtains and caused illuminated stripes of gold to appear on the wood of his cupboard. From within it, he pulled out a robe of royal blue with a trim of gold. He put it on but left the robe untied; Sunagakure was warm even at sunrise and no none would see him shirtless on his balcony at this time of day anyway.

On his way to the balcony, the crimson haired shinobi snatched a book from his private library, before pulling aside the curtains and stepping out on to the veranda. Gaara took a deep, satisfying breath of morning air as he stepped out into the sunshine. The world was peaceful, the air was beginning to warm with the scent of jasmine from the gardens. Gaara leant against the railing of his balcony, facing his room, and opened his book to read.

"You like Ariwara no Kai, Kazekage?" A soft voice fell like birdsong into the melody of the morning and the Kazekage looked up to see that songbird appraising him from the doorway that lead to his room. Her white robe falling off her shoulders, curls curling out of her hair, smiling at him; Ai looked angelic in the morning, strange given that last night she was anything but. With a small smile at this thought, he shrugged.

"His work seems less elusive to me, now that I have conversed with you." Ai laughed and approached coyly. "You are familiar with his work?" The Kazekage asked and watched Ai attentively as she placed her hands on the balcony's banister beside him and looked out into the world. She smiled in the way one does when reminiscing.

"He was my teacher." She said fondly, pulling her robe over her shoulders as she spoke. "He was the writer of-"

"_Bakudaina Densetsu_ _(A/N: The Untold Legends), _the poems that recount the legends of the Gods." As Gaara spoke, so confidently, Ai shot him a look of suspicion. "I know his work; the books were given to me as a child." Gaara said in explanation before they both shared a small smirk at one another and looked back into the plains of the desert.

The two young lovers stood in silence on the balcony, enjoying the quiet of the morning, each enjoying the company of the other.

"His work," Gaara began, "ends halfway through a poem." Ai nodded.

"The poem _Love_, is incomplete. Kai-sensei left the Tea House before he finished it and the House published whatever remained." Flicking through the book, Gaara found the last poem and skimmed the page.

"_He who walks in the shadow of love, will surely have heaven beneath his feet." _Gaara read the last line of the poem in his gentle, yet authoritative voice and as he read Ai moved with a small smile closer to his face. "I wonder if that is true." He pondered in a way that Ai found hard not to giggle at; there was a sweetness behind the violent and commanding facade that the Kazekage adopted. His naïveté of basic human things was almost childlike; how funny that a murderer should be so innocent. Ai's smile faded.

"Can you not imagine it?" Ai asked. Gaara's brow furrowed as his fingers outlined the black ink on the page in front of him.

"I have some recollection of loving someone." He whispered and looked as though he was trying hard to remember, before he shook his head, "it was a lifetime ago; it is not worth reliving hashed and shattered memor…" His voice trailed away as the girl placed both hands on either side of his face, pulled him towards her and looked deep into his eyes with that look he could not understand.

"Can you not imagine it?" She asked again.

"I…" Gaara could not find words that would meet her look of longing with the same emotion. Her eyes were glistening in the sunlight, her lips, full and plump were quivering in anticipation to hear him speak. But the Kazekage could not say anything; like a vice on his larynx, the heartache of his childhood would not let him say it.

"Gaara?" Ai and Gaara looked up, suddenly, into the room at the sound of Temari's voice. Gaara took a protective step forward to block Ai from anyone's view. The morning breeze pulled the curtain back from his door so his big sister could see him from his bedroom. Temari appraised her brother with a smile, it was so funny to see Gaara, who she used to think of as a monster, stood in a regal robe of blue and gold, the white curtain curling away as though in fear of him. What a fine shinobi he had turned out to be. Kankuro appeared behind her and smiled at his brother.

"Hey, little bro," Kankuro waved him in but Gaara did not budge, "we have to have lunch with the Prince today-"

"He's leaving,"Temari interrupted as though irritated that Kankuro had not gotten to the point soon enough.

"Thank the Gods," Kankuro interjected under his breath.

"And I think…"Temari's smile faded, her back straightened, her arms folded. "Oh, Gaara," she said in disappointment.

In the silence of the morning, a strong breeze had fluttered into the room and around the young Kazekage like a whirlwind, lifting up Ai's hair around her. Like wisps of black smoke, they signalled her position to the others. Even her anklets tinkled in the breeze in a high-pitched, teasing way, as though delighted to get Ai into trouble.

Out of respect for those in a higher position than her, Ai stepped out from behind Gaara, her head bowed, holding her breath for the scolding.

"How long has this been going on?" Temari asked although she seemed like she did not want to know the answer. "Gaara?" She spoke louder as the two teenagers did not answer.

"What concern is it of yours, Temari?" Ai looked up at Gaara with wide eyes, shocked that he would speak like that to his sister. Upon hearing this, Temari opened her mouth in offence and took a few steps forward.

"You would risk the reputation of the palace, of our family, of yourself,"Temari raised her voice, "all for some…some…I can't even say the word-"

"Temari-sama, please-"

"Learn to speak when you are spoken to." Temari silenced Ai with a single sentence. "Leave." The blonde shinobi nodded towards the door sharply and rolled her eyes as Ai looked back to Gaara. He averted his eyes from her. Why would he not look at her? Why was he so full of fear and doubt? The Kazekage finally spoke:

"Leave, Ai." Gaara said sternly. With every moment, Ai's heart felt heavier, as though the weight of his attitude were nestling upon it. Ai nodded even though he was not looking at her. She walked past Temari, with her head held high, only to save face, and as she passed Kankuro she could have sworn, for the briefest of moments, that he smiled at her.

The door shut with a sharp thwack as she left.

Gaara walked past Temari with a look that said: _happy now_? The Kazekage was not a man of many words; before, his anger would result in violence, now, he remained in discourteous silence whenever someone irritated him. His elder sister's shoulders slumped as she looked apologetic. Gaara sat at his desk, his face turned away from his two siblings.

"You have worked so hard, Gaara," Temari spoke softly. "Do not throw it all away because blue eyes give you a second glance. I know you are young. I know this is new…"

"But this is no way to establish yourself as a Kage." Kankuro, to the surprise of his siblings, spoke up. He never liked to meddle in anyone's affairs but he knew his sister needed his support, he knew his little brother needed guidance. "I'm sure Ai is sweet but she isn't the sort of girl you should-"

"What sort of girl should I be spending my nights with?" Gaara turned his head to them sharply. They had not seen him become heated in a long time. Both Temari and Kankuro lowered their arms and took stance, preparing for what may come. "And who are you to tell me anyway?" The Kazekage was particularly out of character; he raised his voice, slumped in his chair and hissed at them: "Why doesn't anyone in this palace ever have the decency to leave me be?" Temari's mouth fell open in shock at her, usually calm, brother's words as Kankuro put his hands up in surrender and smiled.

"Woah, Gaara, we didn't come here to have an argument-"

"That girl has acted more like family to me than either of you ever have!" Gaara stood. "When Shukaku grows restless she comes running, she doesn't cower or bury her head in the sand!" Temari took a step back. "She is kind and treats me like a human being. I went straight from being a jinchuriki, a monster, to being a Kage living in these quarters of the palace. And in each of those positions I have found myself quarantined- shut out from the rest of the world! And you two stand there telling me what to do and who to see? I'm sick of this." He stood and put his hands in his hair. "SHUT UP!" Temari and Kankruo jumped.

"We didn't say anyt-"

"I'm talking to Shukaku." Gaara interrupted and took a few deep breaths. It took him a few moments to calm down and when he did, he sat back down and sighed. "Ai takes me away from everything; from being a jinchuriki, from being a Kage. I felt like I never knew myself but when I am around her I feel like she can see through all this. I feel like she can see who I am." Temari took a sharp breath.

"Gaara," she spoke calmly, "are you in love with her?" The three stood in silence for a moment. "She is a courtes-"

"Temari," she looked over to Kankuro as he put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. It was not her turn to speak. They waited with baited breath to hear Gaara's response.

"No." Gaara's voice came out hoarse and dry as though he did not want to say it. Temari was about to speak again but Kankuro guided her from the room with a stern look.

"Lunch is at one." Gaara heard his brother say.

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News of the Prince's departure swept through the palace like wildfire; he was taking leave of the Palace with great haste and had only agreed to lunch if Ai were to perform a last dance to bid him farewell. Megumi had arranged everything before Ai had even woken that morning; the girl's clothes, jewellery and entourage of dancers were all ready for her. Ai had been summoned to her room which, unknown to anyone else, she had never actually slept in while at the palace.

Megumi walked through the palace halls hurriedly, stopping and bowing to those of high position, before carrying on to Ai's room where she heard there had been a…hindrance to Ai's preparation. _That girl_, Megumi fumed, _she was nothing but trouble_! She should never have taken in the daughter of a dreamer- like father like daughter! Always so enchanted with the world, their heads in the clouds, spinning alongside the stars. _Ridiculous!_ Megumi reached Ai's door and waited for a servant boy to open it for her.

Upon entering the room, Megumi came to the living room of Ai's quarters and looked around to see a few dancing girls all staring in the direction of the bedroom as though waiting for something.

"What are you all-?" As the older courtesan began to speak, the girls all looked over to her in surprise as though they had not noticed her enter. At the same moment as her opening her mouth, however, someone stormed out of Ai's bedroom. "Miko!" Megumi said in surprise as the girl, Ai's good friend, walked out of Ai's bedroom looking thunderous. "What is going on?"

"She is impossible!" Miko said exasperatedly. "She refuses to dance- she refuses to even put her clothes on!" The look of distress on Miko's face transferred to Megumi; the problem with pretty girls is that they get so used to getting their own way, Ai was no exception. There was no time for this spoilt behaviour.

"Come," Megumi took Miko's hand and waved to the rest of the girls, "the rest of you, buy us time." The girls, all dressed in varying shades of blue, left the room, looking likes waves of the ocean. The leader of the Tea House took her student by the hand and lead her back through to Ai's bedroom.

The room was grand and enormous; with a round bed in the middle, a canopy of white silk falling around it. On the floor, by the bed, clutching at the bedsheets, a tear rolling down her sweet face, sat Ai. She was motionless and had no reaction to them entering the room. Her clothes, a silvery colour one could only call moonlight, were laid out on her bed beside her jewellery, glittering in the sunlight. Megumi forced a smile.

"Ai, what is that has afflicted you so?" She asked almost happily. Too happily in fact, even Miko was surprised and stayed by the door as her teacher went over the the bed and sat beside Ai. She stroked Ai's hair with motherly affection. "I would ask if it were the Kazekage but he banished…oh." Megumi stopped, her smile stopped, as Ai winced upon hearing the word _Kazekage_. A few moments of silenced passed in which a tiny trickle of a tear escaped the young dancer's big blue eyes. Megumi shifted on the bed, sat upright and pulled her veil higher on her head. "You are-"

"In love with him." Ai said dreamily. Miko tried to hide her surprise; how on earth was Ai in love with the Kazekage? They had only ever met once of twice!

"Please, Ai," Megumi almost scoffed, "this is a dream!" She exclaimed but her temperament did nothing to Ai who was held as though in some trance.

"Gaara is not a dream." The girl breathed, "he is reality. He is my fate." Her teacher laughed disbelievingly.

"You are young." Megumi was trying to be patient, trying to let a teenage love affair have some importance. But Ai was testing her patience. "You do not know what love is!"

"It is what keeps me tied to him. It is what resonates in my heart." Ai gripped the silk bedsheets as though clutching to the dream of him. Megumi lost what little patience she had for this.

"Is that why you seduced Nobutara?" The elder courtesan asked bluntly. Ai finally reacted; she raised her head and opened her mouth to respond but nothing she could say could rid her of the guilt. Megumi shook her head. "Face facts, princess: a whore cannot afford the luxury of love! " The woman stood and gestured to Ai who looked aghast. "You think the clothes you are wearing were bought from the value of love?! It is from the hard work of us, courtesans, breathing dreams into the eyes of our admirers that lead to you having such a pleasant upbringing."

"Kismet is inevitable!" Ai shouted back but Megumi was relentless:

"Do you think it is written on the palms of the Kazekage that he should love a whore?" Ai looked away as she said this, not wanting to hear it. "Is it written in the stars that a man of his stature should give himself entirely to a woman of our creed? Well?" Ai did not respond, she put her head in her hands as hot, full tears escaped her eyes. "Has he given himself to you?" Megumi asked. "Has he defended you? Has he proclaimed his love?" Still, Ai said nothing. "No? Then stop this foolishness." Small gasps of hurt began to escape Ai's mouth as she cried. Megumi straightened her back and glanced at Miko who looked entirely bewildered by the whole situation. The oldest courtesan began with a whisper:

"_I will speak in this language because you and I alone understand it." _Ai lowered her hands from her face and looked up at Megumi as her teacher began to speak a forgotten language._ "You are losing your way, Ai. To read books about biju is no threat to courtesan etiquette, but to act upon what you read, to perform ninjutsu, is beneath us."_The girl looked affronted.

"_I did it to save him!_" Ai screamed.

"_And how does he thank you?" _Megumi shouted back._ "By sleeping with you and throwing you out of his room in the morning?_" Silence. The look on Ai's face, as she watched the sunlight dance on the floor in front of her, was enough to tell Megumi that the girl had lost._ "I will not have one of my girls acting so out of turn; if you dared perform ninjutsu again, join the shinobi, see if they will welcome you with such open arms._" Ai glanced up at Megumi and blinked away tears. How funny, she acts one way and Gaara tells her to leave, she acts another and her family tells her to leave. There is no winning move for a courtesan.

"Get ready. The Prince leaves in an hour."

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**Reviews appreciated!**


	15. The Legend of the Blood-Love: Part I

Howdy, today's video is **"Kahe Chhed Mohe" **it's a song from the movie Devdas. The woman dancing is a courtesan and the song is essentially how I envisioned the song in this chapter. Enjoy!

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_**The Legend of the Blood-Love. Part I**_

There is the world. Beneath it lies space, stretching on for an infinitesimal distance and above it, surrounded by a swirling chaos of galaxies and oceans, lies Tengoku (heaven). Home to the Gods, origin of existence, Palace of the Creator and resting place for higher spirits; the heavenly plane existed before the world we know. Like the first wafts of fragrance from the smallest blossoms in Spring, it is in the early years of it's existence in which the tale of the Blood-Love unfolded.

Gods lived in peace together, undisturbed by the wars that went on in the planes beneath them, unperturbed by the swelling storms encompassing the mass that would later become Earth. They lived like the lull of a bird's first song, swaying in the melody of grace. Until, of course, Renai was found.

Born from the light of a pole star, she came with reckless charm and beauty to rival even Kichijo (Goddess of fertility, beauty and luck). Dubbed the goddess of spiritual grace, eloquence and love, Renai tore through the hearts of Gods as delicately as a Spring breeze shakes blossoms from a cherry tree. She bought chaos, jealousy, pleasure and rage to the Gods of Tengoku and it did not sit well with the Creator. He grew tired of her antics; hypnotising and enslaving other _Kami (Gods)_ with her loveliness, it was difficult to run a civilisation with the likes of her fluttering around!

In a moment of utter frustration at Renai's anarchy, the Creator made the moon and tied her to it. Outside of the world, he left her in isolation so that she may wallow in solitude and no longer entice other Gods with her mischief.

Without her, paradise seemed lost, stars lost their glimmer and Gods grew fat and lamented her long lost charm.

A young God, Senso, a warrior who travelled far from heaven, had never encountered Renai for he had gone into battle only a day before she was found. He returned to his homeland to find it barren and forgotten. Senso was told of Renai's incarceration and grew curious; who was it that could have come into the world and created such havoc only to be missed when she left? Senso went in search of her.

He found her hidden in a star, singing softly, a silver thread made from the Creator's hair was wrapped around her ankle and chained her to the moon. Everything about her captivated him, as she stared so innocently and coyly from her cage to see who it was that came to meet her. The first moment they met he asked her name and that was it; when she answered he left.

Senso returned many times to meet with Renai, whose humour and mischief both soothed and enraged him. A warrior with a fierce temper, he often left her calling after him when he grew angry with her. Often he would stop talking to her for days and return demanding an apology. Their arguments shook the moon itself; cast it in shadow for when Renai frowned the stars cowered. Sometimes, for Renai had a temper not unlike his own, she would ignore him, play with the clouds and blow away stardust, make him look like a fool with a twist of a few words.

One day Senso approached her and, as she called to him with a smile, without a word he took her in his arms and kissed her. Well, Renai had never felt anything quite like it. How dare he touch her without even greeting her!? How dare he stop?! Senso told her he was going to take her home and, just like that, he cut the silver thread from her ankle and unleashed her from her celestial imprisonment.

Upon returning to heaven, Senso and Renai were called in front of the Creator. Renee fell to her knees and begged the all-powerful god to let her by their affection, the Creator granted her wish.

Following her restoration as a kami, Senso and his beloved began a relationship that mimicked both the ocean and the sky; thunderous, calm, gentle, beautiful and terrifying. They fought moments before making love, they hated one another moments before embracing and they could not live without one another.

This is the mark of blood-love. It is the phenomenal ability of love to throw aside barriers, to mar the lines between opposites and see them be born out of each other. When mortals find themselves in the torturous cycle of love coming from hate and hate coming from love. Of pleasure coming from pain and pain coming from pleasure, they are said to have reached the state of paradise that Senso and Renai found themselves in. They are said to have reached a heavenly love; that only experienced by gods.

One cannot say at what stroke of the clock's hands did the delicate and chained Ai fall in love with Gaara of the desert. By which moon did she glance upon his handsome face and realise her heart was no longer in her own keeping? And in what treacherous world did the two young lovers find themselves in, that they could not escape together? Love was only an ailment to them. A wound preventing each from living their lives. This red, defected, remorse of love was unbearable. It made them enemies, lovers, warriors, victims and without their consent, without respect for his station, it tied them to one another.

With bowed heads, Gaara and Ai sat either side of a white curtain that divided a courtyard in two.

The Kazekage was surrounded by his family, mentors and those who came with the Prince. Nobutara sat to his left, completely unaware of the Kazekage's sombre mood. Gaara was lost in thoughts unknown, irresponsive to his surroundings, his siblings tried their best to lighten his mood. Nothing worked, as they suspected. Gaara's mood now was effected only by her.

As though struck by a lightning bolt, Gaara's attention snapped upwards as the instruments began to play. The tune was unlike how Gaara was feeling; it was playful and happy, it was not a song he thought Ai would be singing. Nonetheless the curtain rose and there she sat, with a small smile on her face, dressed in moonlight, sparkling in the sun. She looked straight to the prince before gesturing to the dancers behind her to come and sit close as though she were about to tell a story.

_"_Sat in starlight I went unnoticed by the world,

Imprisoned for having cities of men fall at my feet,

I was left to wallow in loneliness

Until my gaze fell upon him."

Gaara looked over to Nobutara who sat with a smile as Ai pointed to him.

"A handsome stranger came with a gust of wind that shook the waters,

He found me sat in starlight, down by the riverbank,

And threw pebbles to catch my attention!"

The women surrounding Ai, all dressed in shades of blue, giggled as though she were really recounting the tale of her love. Gaara scoffed; Ai's aloof manner made everyone fall in love with her! Gaara was angry. He couldn't understand it! Why was she acting like this? She was supposed to be hurting too, wasn't she? Or was he being irrational? The damned curse of his childhood constantly left him second guessing his feelings.

Ai stood with a twirl.

"I spied him through the dark waves of the night

And beckoned him closer

As he told me of his victories in worlds far off.

He reeled me in with tales of war and poetry from beyond the stars." The women all looked off dreamily as Ai gestured to the skies.

"Before the rogue in him snatched me in the nighttime

And twisted my arm behind my back

With such force the bangles I made from moonstone broke!" With a fake look of surprise Ai had all eyes on her.

"Upon our next meeting his demeanour never faded;

His cruelty knows no bounds;

I grow restless at the sight of him

And beg him not to come close,

But my heartless lover never listens;

He pulls at my hair and teases me so."

"Whenever the flute of heaven signals the doors to open,

I shrug and put on a farce to show I did not welcome his company.

But my mischievous anklets begin to chime to the rhythm of the flute

And my desire to see him is unmasked.

Last I saw my cruel lover,

He pulled me in and whispered words I shall never forget,

Words that gave me meaning,

Words that gave me freedom." Ai's sweet voice broke a little, as she sang the last line and looked to the floor.

"And just like that; he was gone." Love stilled in the night.

"Oh, stranger, I beg of you, do not leave me.

Oh, stranger, I beg of you, do not forget me." Ai looked up to the Kazekage but he had averted his eyes.

"If you ever stumble upon my imprisonment again,

Set me free, cruel one, dark one, _heartless one." _

The drums continued to play, the string instruments continued to shower the night with a flurry of notes that sounded like twinkling stars, as Ai walked determinedly up to Gaara. Fiercely as though going in to battle, she walked to him with no regard for the wishes of the palace. The music seemed to be building to a crescendo; the dancers behind Ai were twirling, the courtyard was a mess of blue and white as the girl dressed in moonlight approached the audience.

"Lover, do not leave me." She sang and came to sit in front of Gaara and the Prince. "Dark one, do not forget me," the audience watched in bewilderment as Ai took the prince's hand in her lap.

Courtesans held their breath for they knew what was about to happen. Most women from the royal and shinobi courts were familiar with the practice too and waited to see what the prince would do. Ai raised her right hand to her face and, with her little finger, wiped some of the kohl from under her eye. The drums built their pace, the dancers twirled, Ai lowered her finger to his palm.

"Oh, stranger, do not forget-" Everything stopped. The drums stopped. The dancers almost fell mid-twirl. Someone had grabbed Ai's wrist to prevent her from marking the prince. The dancer's eyes travelled upwards to see who it was that had stopped her. Her gaze met dark rimmed opal eyes and she let out a sigh; _has it come to this, Gaara?_

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That was short, but a good cliffhanger to end on. Yes? No? Tell me in a review!


	16. Kizuato

**Long time no see. No video for this chapter. Enjoy!**

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Ai and Gaara walked in silence through the palace. The trouble-ridden Kazekage grasped Ai's wrist tightly and lead the girl, dressed in moonlight, along stone passageways, through darkened archways and up winding staircases. Ai had her right hand stretched out as Gaara dragged her with him, her other hand held on to the pendant of her pearl necklace as though it were some source of comfort. The only noise was the tinkling of her anklets, playing a tune to entice birds in the palace gardens to call out to Ai as thought to ask her where she was going. As though they were asking her why she followed, fearful of the man in front of her.

With a dark and furrowed brow, Gaara walked on. The dancer gasped softly as Gaara's grip intensified and broke one of the bangles on her wrist; the pearlescent glass fell in pieces to the floor with a tinkle that made Ai wince. The shinobi had no such reaction; he walked as though swallowed by a dark cloud that fell around them. He went unaffected by anything happened; members of the Kazekage's court called to him or asked him where he was going but Gaara did not heed their calls. Ai followed behind him, her gaze cast downwards, her white veil trailing along the floor behind them.

The two ascended to meet the sun at noon, as they climbed the stairs leading to the roof. At the top of the stairs Gaara pushed open a door and lead Ai out onto the rooftop of the palace. He let go of her hand and left the dancer standing by the doorway. As the door shut behind her, she stood, nonplussed, staring at his back in stunned silence as the Kazekage walked out to the edge of the roof.

The daytime was sinfully hot in Sunagakure; the sun was at its highest point and sat in a cloudless, blue sky. There was no breeze to alleviate this torture as Gaara and his courtesan stood in silence. All Ai could see was Gaara, stood against the sky, it looked almost as though he were stood on the brink of nothingness; just warm, open sky. Suddenly, he spoke:

"Why are we here, Ai?" Upon hearing his question, Love stirred.

"Here?" She asked, even though she knew entirely what the shinobi meant.

"We are from different worlds; shinobi and courtesan, innocent and murderer, beauty and monster." Gaara spoke with so much power, as though he was speaking something sacred. "We should not be stood here now." His voice became a whisper. "It shouldn't ache like this." He turned back to her, his hand grasping at the white material of his Kazekage cloak, clinging on to something in his chest. There was something sharp and painful in his throat as he cleared it to speak; "why are we here?" He asked again. Ai cast her gaze downwards and sighed a little; what could she say that she had not said before? Gaara was impossible, conflicted and complicated; he was more than her delicate self could handle. But Gaara did not give her a chance to answer. He shrugged off his Kazekage robe to reveal his deep red cloak beneath, and continued his discourse:

"Everyone I have ever loved, has hurt me," Gaara looked away from her as he placed his Kazekage robe on the balcony of the roof. "Lied to me. Deceived me. I was a child and they tried to kill me." It surprised Ai that Gaara's tone was confident and self-assured; he no longer harboured any ill-feelings towards his childhood. "I have learnt to forgive, I have learnt to move on. My soul was broken into a thousand jagged shards by those who claimed to love me." The Kazekage looked over to the girl, trying to articulate what this pain, the one stinging in his eyes and clutching his heart, was doing to him. "It has taken me painful, slow years, to rebuild my soul. I became who I am for the sake of my village. I am strong; I mastered my biju and won over my people. But now, I live in fear."

"Fear?" Ai took a step forwards as though to tend to him but stopped when she caught that dangerous look in his eye.

"I live in fear of what you have done to me. The success of my endeavours hangs in the balance when you glance at me. You came into my life like no more than a summer breeze, and yet all that I have worked so hard for, is undone." Gaara shook his head at her, his eyes stinging. "I managed to quieten Shukaku, but now he grows restless without your cool blood around me." The Kazekage closed his eyes and sighed. "Because it all comes rushing back." Upon opening his eyes he gestured to her; "why do you have this look of longing for me? Why do you show up in the dead of night promising me relief from my want of you?" Ai did not know whether to smile or apologise. "I had even reduced my hunger for death, but now my appetite craves something not entirely different. That deathless death you endure when we are alone, makes me weak, makes me burn. How, when I have become so strong?" Gaara demanded an answer out of her but the girl stood, unable to approach him, unable to give him answers. "How, when I have made myself believe love is not in my fate?" He raised his voice. "How are you here!? How are you doing this?!" Ai opened her mouth to speak but found she could utter nothing in response. The Kazekage saw she was speechless and his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Silence stretched on until, eventually, Gaara couldn't take it anymore. He grumbled to the ground:

"The poem, _Love, _I know how it ends." Ai looked up, surprised, as he spoke.

"How?" She asked and raised an eyebrow. Gaara smiled in a disbelieving manner.

"With you." He looked up at her. "It was always you." The Kazkage began to walk towards her. "In the end, what else is there?" He was approaching fast, Ai felt the need to say something, anything, she was beginning to retreat.

"I-"

"I'm sure you do, Ai." Gaara interrupted with a nod.

"We-"

"I'm sure we are, Ai." Her back hit the wall. He approached her and stood directly in front of her, he looked down at her and, mere inches from her face, he smirked in a manner that irked her.

"Let me speak!" Ai shouted and grew evermore infuriated as the Kazekage put his hands against the door on either side of her, caging her. He smiled.

"Speak." He ordered her. "Go on." Ai could not believe it; how dare he patronise her! She stood, fuming, in silence as he mocked her, unable to move, unable to escape him. "Look," Gaara held up his hands to her, giving her some space to breathe, "I'm not touching you, there is no sand winding its way around you, why are you silent?" He asked but Ai felt sheepish talking to someone who exuded power so effortlessly. "It was your insatiable appetite for conversation that got us here, is it not?" All who knew her, knew Ai did not take kindly to criticism. In her young, naive and reckless manner, she had to confront him.

"What do you mean?" Ai tilted her chin at him in defiance. Gaara took a step back and shook his head with a sick smile:

"Oh, you suddenly chirp up at a chance to bicker with me? That is always your manner." The dancer was growing fed up at his accusations. She moved close towards him and spat words at him as though disgusted.

"I am not the one constantly pushing and pulling against the tide-!"

"What does that mean?" The Kazekage moved close to his courtesan again.

"It means I am the only one being honest!" She shouted back.

"Honest?" Gaara laughed. "Then what was all that with Nobutara?" Ai looked bashful for a moment before regaining her confidence.

"Performance!" Gaara simply looked confused and took a few steps away from her as though to take a deep breath, Ai walked out to meet him in the middle of the roof.

"So what were you doing; taking his hand?" As he asked this, that bashful look slinked its way back on Ai's face and she looked to the ground.

"_Kizuato_ (A/N: Scar)." She whispered. Gaara, who was growing near mad of her antics, shook his head in irritation.

"What?" He asked exasperatedly. "Speak in a suitable dialect-"

"It is a tradition of our people" Ai interrupted quickly, not wanting him to get his way, "when one considers another beautiful they scar them by marking their skin, usually with black kohl." Her eyes softened, her voice returned to its usual melodic cadence. "To make them imperfect, so they are protected from the evil eye." Gaara simply stared back at her, unimpressed; these ancient customs were infuriating to him, not founded in reason or rationale. It was exactly her; fairy tale-like and sweet. He sighed as they looked at one another.

"Why are you ding this Ai?"

"Doing what? I am only doing whatever is asked of me!"

"Why are you poisoning me with all this?"

"With all what?!"

"With you!" The red headed shinobi retaliated; "your scent is in my blood, I feel the warmth of you on my skin, I hear your voice in darkness. You heal me and cut me. You have created a war in my soul; what are you? What is this?!" Ai looked away as he approached.

"An impossible love." She whispered.

"What?"

"You push me away and yet you crave me." Ai turned her back to him. "I cannot be a part of this any longer." She wiped her eyes hurriedly. "You are tearing me apart, Gaara."

"_I_ am tearing _you_ apart?"

"Why do you put dreams in my head of what could be?" Ai faced him, her bottom lip trembling. "Why do you speak to me as though I am yours and you are mine?" The courtesan walked up to the Kazekage and, with no thought of her place or his strength, she pushed him, demanding an answer. "Why behind closed doors do you love me so fearlessly and yet under the gaze of others you cower like a child!" Gaara remained passive, standing at his full height, his chest strong, he did not even flinch when she touched him.

"Do not test me, Ai."

"How could I? Moments pass and you are never the same in each." The dancer whispered up to him. She inwardly rolled her eyes and looked away. "I may be a courtesan," she mumbled, "but I am worth more than this unrequited affection." Ai held her head high as she spoke to him with a hint of spite. "Have you not heard my reputation as the _Utsukushīdesu _(beautiful one) of the Tea House ranges over countries now; I am called upon by royalty and shinobi." Blue eyes narrowed on him before she turned away haughtily. "I need not attend the court of a Kage." She spat out bitterly, trying to maintain the illusion that her heart wasn't breaking. Gaara looked at her as though seeing Ai for the first time. With her back to him, he reached out and placed a finger beneath her chin. Perhaps it was his strength, perhaps it was her will, but Ai turned to him completely as he tilted her chin towards him. She refused to make eye contact as Gaara observed her intently, her eyes were filling with pearls of tears as she held her emotions back.

"Such vanity?" The Kazekage asked softly.

"Why not be vain?" Ai pushed his finger away from her. "What are you, but skilled an handsome? We are matched, Kazekage. If you take pride in being a shinobi, then I take pride in being a courtesan."

"Even the moon is not that vain." He warned her.

"The moon is scarred, yet she endures." The girl retorted and as she turned away from him, the Kazekage did something he could not explain. In less than a moment, Gaara pulled her by her hair to face him, before he snatched the pearl necklace she wore so tightly that the latch broke. He struck her forehead with the large pendant. "Ah!" Ai cried out and cradled her forehead as pearls scattered around them. The Kazekage dropped the necklace. "Gaara, what have you done?" She asked, her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Gaara bent down beside her and moved her hands away to inspect his head. He blew gently on the small cut that had formed directly beneath her hairline. A small droplet of blood formed before spilling over and trickling down her forehead.

"Kizuato." Gaara answered her. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "I have scarred you like the moon, with the mark of my love." The blood trickled down between her eyes before catching her eyelashes.

"Love?" She asked and closed her eyes as she stood and Gaara placed his lips against the cut on her forehead.

"This has gone far enough." Ai and Gaara looked over as the door to the rooftop opened and Megumi stepped through, unaccompanied, to appraise the two. She looked regal and commanding in a white and gold dress. The village elder glanced at her student with, what Ai thought looked like, sadness.

"Megumi-sama-"

"Who scarred you?" Megumi interrupted Ai by lifting a hand and pointing to the girl's forehead.

"I," Ai looked to the floor, "fell." Megumi almost scoffed.

"Enough of this. You council awaits you, Kazekage, I suggest you tend to them before they consider your frequent vanishings indicative of your commitment to the village." Megumi stepped away from the doorway so he could leave. Ai felt Gaara move her hair from her shoulder.

"Meet me in the gardens at dusk." He whispered.

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**Please review :)**


	17. The Will of Ariwara no Kai

I don't understand why none of you review and instead send me PMs with all sorts of curious questions. I shall explain them all here: (You happy? Now everyone has to read this long-ass beginning note because no one reviews telling me they don't understand this stuff, I have to wait a month after updating to hear from you hahaha, what is up with how much hassle this fic causes me?).

**References within the anime/manga**

1\. Boshu; the act of offering in which one gives food/gifts to a God. A practice not uncommon in most Eastern religions. However, the way I have used it (with Ai dipping her ring finger into milk/cutting her ring finger to offer blood) has been completely made up by me and is indeed a reference to Yashamaru's act of kindness towards Gaara as a child in which he cuts his finger to demonstrate physical pain to Gaara and a deeper lesson about love. I founded boshu on this because it is one of the first acts of love Gaara experiences. Yashamaru does cut his ring finger too but there is a further meaning behind this which will be explained later in the fic.

2\. Kizuato; the act of "marking" someone to ward off the evil eye is common practice in many countries (usually with dark kohl). However, in this fic it is a reference to Gaara scarring himself with the kanji symbol on his forehead, when he was a child; the only person he accepted and loved in his blood-thirsty days was himself, now Ai is the only other person marked by him. It is the only way in which Gaara can act within love, it is a ritual entirely fitting of the blood-love; he had to inflict pain on Ai to perform an act of great affection. Poor guy doesn't know any better :( Lucky for me it is one hell of a literary theme.

Other points to note:

1\. "She was Gaara's first love." A couple of astute reviewers have inferred that I mean that Ai and Gaara will not end up together. As is usual with this story, all is not as it seems so please do not assume the worst!

2\. "A love to start or end all wars." Yes, this is a reference to the 4th shinobi war, yes this fic follows the story of the manga, yes I am upset they put that chunin exam filler in the anime because now it skews everything in this fic.

3\. The fact that Gaara has acted more like a whore than Ai; hahahaha, I found this hilarious in one PM that pointed this out! i.e. Gaara has performed more sexual favours than Ai even though she's supposed to be the prostitute. (Still laughing at the idea of Gaara being the courtesan instead). In answer to this observation I have two things to say:

a) Ai is not a prostitute, she is a courtesan; as such, sex comes into her "secondary skills set". Courtesans are sought after for their intelligence, beauty, entertainment skills and company. Sex, whilst of course being a big part of courtesan culture, is considered far too sacred of an act for a courtesan to act entirely whorish; it is between her and the customer to engage in sex however they want. So for this reason it is not odd that Ai should…um…be a little less…adventurous(?) than Gaara. Hahahaha.

b) Their relationship is not an orthodox noble man meets courtesan deal, so it is not unusual that their sex life be just as unorthodox.

4\. Ai swearing. I received a little stick for Ai swearing in lemons, considering Megumi won't even let her use apostrophes. Ai has a rebellious nature and I would hope, from stealing birdcages, from using apostrophes, from defying all social norms and continuing a sexual relationship with a psychopathic jinchurriki-turned-Kage, that her swearing a little is not completely shocking.

5\. Ai using jutsu. Let the fic develop, see where that stuff goes, it is going to be amazing!

6\. Ai's clothes. I get a lot of: "she's wearing a skirt, she's wearing a dress…? WHICH ONE IS IT?" I've said many times that the courtesan culture I refer to in the fic is that of the Mughal Empire (think India C15-18th) and Ai essentially dresses like the women in the videos I am constantly suggesting. To be more specific, I envisage Ai to wear lenghas. If you search for pictures of Aishwarya Rai in Umrao Jaan (2006), basically anything she wears, Ai wears very similar stuff. Or just google the term lengha. (Ai doesn't do the cropped blouse…well not just yet ;) Ah, ending on a parenthesis!).

Yes, if you review more these subtleties could be teased out of me much earlier and we would not find ourselves in the position of me explaining to you why this story is on another level. Tell your friends. So that they also refrain from leaving reviews.

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**_Chapter 18: The Will of Ariwara no Kai_**

Megumi spilt her tea, the morning Ai arrived at the Tea House. She remembered the moment clearly; her chair scraping backwards on the stone floor as the clock struck six, the teacup in her hand falling back onto the table, white tea spilling over and through the iron filagree tabletop, as she looked up to see who would knock on her door so early in the morning.

The day was overcast and bleak, and she had walked towards the doors of her House with an uncertain, ominous feeling as though she were about to reveal something unwanted. What caught her eye, upon opening the doors was not at all as she thought; like a bottled moonbeam, she came across light and warmth and hope. The dancer's eyes welled with tears as she looked upon the face of her dearest friend, the poet, Ariwara no Kai.

"Kai!" She remembered speaking his name with disbelief, though the memory of the sound had now faded to an echo. Megumi had gone to embrace his withered and tired soul but the handsome friend pushed her back and revealed what was in his arms. A tear fell from Megumi's cheek when she saw her.

A frail and fair child, cooing and laughing and reaching up for her father's beard as he held her, wrapped in a white cotton cloth. Skin pale as the moon, hair dark as the night and eyes so blue they rivalled the sky itself. Beside herself with happiness, Megumi took the child in her arms and called Ai her own. The dancer spun in bliss and laughed as the child did, spinning and giggling as though they had been united through fate. The woman's long dark hair flowing around them like the wisps of desert wind.

"Her mother, Kai?" Megumi had asked but her smile faded, that cold ominous feeling returned as Kai sighed and shut the door behind him. Megumi held tight to the child for fear she may drop her in surprise at what Kai proceeded to tell her.

That day, that morning, Megumi's world changed. Only moments before meeting Ai she believed her sole purpose was to orchestrate the proceedings of a courtesan House but what Kai told her changed her charge entirely. She was entrusted with something far more precious than what she thought her life would ever, could ever, entail. But she trusted her friend, he was a good man, simple and loyal and he would never ask of her the impossible. So Megumi took this beautiful, lonesome child and raised her as though her own. Ai became a part of the Tea House, became a part of Megumi's life for good. So now, at the thought of finally losing her, Megumi could not help but weep.

The two, almost mother and daughter, were sat on Megumi's bed in the palace. The day had turned cold, the room almost seemed grey and silent. The room was full to the brim with grey, fading glass, even the chandelier looked as though it were tired and hung listlessly from the ceiling. The only thing you could hear was the occasional tinkle from the wind chimes outside, the tick of the grandfather clock in the corner, as Ai sat in white, unable to look at her teacher for the shame of disobeying her.

"Have I hurt you so much?" Ai asked slowly, looking down to the floor. "By loving him?" Megumi shook her head as hot tears ran down her aged and beautiful face. She also wore white, but with a trim of gold and gold jewellery with seemed to have lost its lustre. What a strange symmetry life had; the day she met Ai she had wept with joy, the day for Ai to leave, she wept with regret.

"No, _Utsukush__ī__desu _(beautiful one)," Megumi replied with her head bowed. Ai glanced up.

"Why did you call me that? A name given to me by others?" Megumi almost laughed upon hearing this and sniffed.

"You have so many names now," the elder courtesan breathed heavily and wiped her eyes with the end of her veil. "I hear they talk of you in other villages; _the girl with the moonlike face, the girl who can talk to biju, beautiful one, divine one_, all names others have given you." As she spoke, heavy tears escaped her eyes, her breathing became deep and heavy and Ai, so delicate in her manner, could not help but feel this emptiness too.

"And why does that upset you so?" As the young girl spoke, Megumi looked up to her most beloved student. Ai: so innocent, so beautiful, so willing to do the right thing, to please those who mean most to her.

"Because it seems you are no longer in my keeping." Megumi sobbed, "it seems your time has come." Ai looked startled and tilted her head.

"My time has come to…?"

"To leave me." A heartbeat passed before Ai moved forwards and embraced her teacher.

"Never!" She shouted as Megumi, tears still rolling down her face, smiled at the affection. "You are the closest thing I have ever known to family!" Ai's shouts were muffled by Megumi's veil that she buried into for comfort.

"No, my child." Ai withdrew slowly as she noticed Megumi change; the woman's back stiffened, her voice became deeper, more serious, all tears stopped at once. As Ai moved back, Megumi looked her in the eye and nodded; it was time. "I must tell you about your family. I must tell you what was entrusted to me nineteen years ago." Ai's veil fell from her head as Megumi spoke and she opened her mouth as though to say something but nothing would come to her. "I remember the day your father brought you to me-"

"I have a father?" Instantly, unwelcome tears filled the girl's eyes.

"We all do, some of us are lucky enough to know who they are." The elder woman sighed, a shuddering a deep sigh. "Many in our profession will never know, but you, my dear, have always been one to break the rules." Ai gulped as though terrified to ask:

"You know my father?" Megumi looked her straight in the eye and could not hold her gaze for the shame of keeping this secret. She whispered:

"You knew your father." Ai shook her head; what was Megumi talking about, she was raised in the Tea House, among women. The only man she ever knew was…like a deep wave from a black ocean, realisation crashed all around her. The girl's eyes widened, her heart stopped. Ai was not even aware that she was shaking her head.

"No." Ai whispered. "No it can't be!"

"Kai did not want to tell you-"

"It cannot be!" Ai stood from the bed and looked at Megumi as though she were mad. The hurt was unbearable; her father had been so close to her all these years? He had left her alone in that place?! Before she knew it, Ai was shouting her sorrows: "What kind of father spends half of your life with you and says nothing of his relation to you!? What kind of father would take his daughter to a whore house to be raised there?! TO BECOME A COURTESAN?!" Tears spilled over the brim of her eyes as she tried to regain breath after shouting. She was taking steps away from Megumi, walking backwards, wanting to be rid of the lies. Megumi beckoned her back and pleaded with her:

"There is more to it than that alone, Ai!" But the girl would not have it.

"Lies." AI whispered to herself. "This has to be, this is…." she looked up to Megumi with such a look of heartbreak that her teacher began to cry again. "This is not love. He is not a father."

"Ai, please, sit. There is more to this than even I understand." Ai jumped as the clock in the corner struck seven in the evening. Its chime echoed around the room like a deep boom, a wind whipped the windows and seemed to seep into the room, causing the chandelier to sway and creak as though ready to fall. Ai approached the bed and took a seat opposite her sensei, her brow furrowed in pain. Why was this happening now? She looked up as Megumi continued the story of Ai's origin.

"Kai came to the Tea House, a child in his arms, saying I must raise her outside of standard norms. He was a poet; a poor man, an artist, he had no way of keeping you safe." She looked at Ai as though that were reason enough to forgive him. "Your father sought your protection, from _what,_ I still cannot say for he never told me; he simply instructed that you needed to be among royalty, among higher class shinobi, to be protected." Ai shook her head in disbelief, causing her teacher to lean forwards and put a hand on hers. "Please, try to understand. For women in this world there are only a few ways we can achieve this; either be born into royalty, be trained in ninjutsu or become a courtesan. Your father was not of royal blood and he strictly forbade you training in any shinobi skill. I was his friend of old and he remembered that the courtesan life is not a bad one. Yes, we are denied love, but we have everything else we could ever possibly ask for. It was the best decision he could make." Again, Megumi looked up at Ai as though begging her forgiveness for lying all these years. Ai simply kept her guard up, not wanting to give into the fantasy that her father may still be alive.

"I cannot believe you." Ai responded, looking away from her teacher. "What was he protecting me from?"

"He did not say."

"Then what use was he?" The girl became infuriated again but listened as her teacher spoke.

"I did as asked. I trained you for the most noble of men in existence; Kage, Princes, Kings…they would all bow down to your skill. And they have," Megumi smiled at her and brushed hair away from Ai's face as though this were somehow consolation enough. "And you have made a name for yourself across this world; you are safe. Wherever you go, someone will protect you."

"Relying on others for protection," Ai scoffed. "Is there no way out of this encroaching servitude?"

"Not for a courtesan, my dear." That was it, it answer to everything; _not for a courtesan. _Hot, angry tears seeped out of the corner of her eyes as she wiped them hurriedly.

"So he made no mention of my mother? The woman who bore me?" She asked quickly.

"You have none."

"How can that be true?" Enraged, Ai looked at Megumi who sighed. "This is absurd!"

"Kai was a man who found himself in the most unimaginable possibilities; he lived half in dreams, I cannot say if what he told me is true." These riddles as answers were becoming tiresome to Ai. She cocked her head at Megumi.

"What did he tell you?"

"He said you were the second half of his poem _Love_, come to life." Ai looked away. That was it? That was the best version of the truth her so-called "father" and Megumi could concoct? Her blue eyes flashed dangerously.

"He was a pathetic man." She whispered.

"He loved you!"

"So he lied to me for sixteen years and then abandoned me?! He knew full well he was raising his daughter to be a whore?!" Ai was disgusted, outraged, she preferred the idea of having no parents at all.

"I cannot say why, I cannot answer these questions. But he can, if you wish to ask him." Ai looked up in shock.

"What?"

"He told me; _when she is called upon by the world, she will want to find me, when that day comes you must let her go_. And here we are, with that day fast approaching on the horizon." The girl's eyes were dancing as Megumi spoke; the possibilities of her past, of her future, were so close to being knowable. "What do you want to do, Ai?" Silent seconds trickled by. The chandelier creaked above them, ready to unhinge.

"I do not know." Ai finally replied.

"Your father entrusted me with one last thing, to aid you on your journey to him." The young dancer turned to her aged teacher and watched as the woman pulled out, from her robes, a small white packet. Ai stared on in curiosity as Megumi pulled apart the paper which fell like white petals on to the bed, to reveal-

"Anklets?" Ai raised an eyebrow. "That is the costume of courtesans; what was he-"

"Have you ever noticed, Ai, that I forbid you from removing your anklets?" Her teacher interrupted her. "Have you never noticed that you sleep with thin chains that are irremovable?" Ai looked down to her feet, to her ankles and shook her head; she had never thought about it. Didn't all courtesans wear anklets all the time? "The day you arrived in my life, Kai brought you in wearing anklets. You were no more than a few weeks old. I cannot explain it, he did not give me answers; those remain with your father." Ai was no longer looking at her, perhaps she was no longer listening. She picked up the white packet from the bed and stared determinedly in front of her. "What will you do, Ai?" As Megumi spoke, Ai was already moving towards to door.

"I do not know." Ai whispered and at the door, she stopped.

"The legend of the blood-love runs deep in your fate, Ai." Megumi warned her. "It is a treacherous and heartbreaking love." Ai was about to leave when Megumi's dangerous tone of voice kept her back. "He is a jinchuuriki; Gaara is a murderer. Your love for him has driven you to perform ninjutsu; I have failed in carrying out your father's wishes." Megumi's voice cracked, her brow furrowed as she realised she had let down her friend, her very own first love. Ai took a breath.

"He is no father of mine."

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The walk to the gardens passed her by for Ai was not in the right frame of mind. Her veil trailed untidily behind her, the white package hung limp in her hand as she walked between servants lighting candles in the hallways to welcome the evening. Before she knew it, Ai was walking into the gardens, the warmth of the night air around her, a breeze cooling her neck. Her white dress flowed like satin against the grass beneath her feet and the diamonds she wore tinkled in tune with water she could her splashing nearby. She was lit up by the glittering stones she wore, perhaps the fireflies though she was one of them for their golden light shimmered around her as she entered the garden.

In the corner of the gardens, the wood painted a pale lilac colour that looked white at dusk, was a large, octagonal pavilion. Hidden beneath low branches of a cherry tree, the Kazekage waited in twilight for her. Upon hearing her footsteps Gaara walked out to the entrance of the pavilion, a grand and ornate arch, and caught sight of her as she entered the garden. She was still dressed in white, glittering in diamonds, achingly beautiful. Was she crying?

Ai entered the gardens with a forlorn look; she felt empty, hollow, as though she needed to find something to fill her up. What was it she was looking for? She continued to walk towards the pavilion, desperately trying to make sense of what she had just been told.

"Ah," she gasped softly as a tear fell from her eyelashes and she caught sight of him. Gaara stood in his red cloak, his dark-rimmed eyes beckoning her into the darkness with him. The vision of him shocked her for she felt it, that pang of recognition, that flicker of want; what would console her now, is love. She walked towards him, her pace quickened, upon approaching she threw the packet in her hands onto the ground and found that she was running towards him.

"Ai, what-" Gaara could not finish his sentence for she threw her arms around him and kissed him, wanting desperately to feel again the way he made her feel; safe, loved, like she was a part of something. Tears rolled down her face as she felt him against her; his hands on her waist smoothing round to her back so he could take her in his arms. Gaara was everything she wanted, everything she needed and in that moment nothing could come between them. As she pulled away from their deep kiss, Gaara kept her in his embrace and kissed her softly a few times, savouring her softness, her delicateness, as though she were a Summer breeze about to leave him. he rested his forehead on hers and both realised their hands had found one another's and they clasped onto each other, their hands between their chests as though holding each other's hearts.

"What happened, Ai?" Gaara asked softly as Ai looked up at him, her bottom lip trembling, her brow furrowing.

"I learnt of something today…."

* * *

Unknown to the Kazekage, to his family or close friends even, talk of revolt, of overthrowing Gaara, was growing attractive to the power-hungry in Sunagakure. Little known to anyone in the village, those interested in mutiny were gathered, several floors below Gaara and Ai, in a secret chamber, only used during war time.

Seven men sat in the dank, half-lit basement room; around a large round table, similar to the one in the Kazekage's palace. All came with the same dark intent that flooded the room, the same terrible conviction; Gaara was to be overthrown in the next few months.

"I am sure many of you are now familiar with the company he keeps?" One man, aged, a voice that sounded like butter being scraped against dry bread, spoke up. Murmurs rippled across the table.

"A whore." One voice piped up as others nodded.

"A girl of the Tea House," another added. The elderly man put his hand up to signal a call for silence.

"Gaara has not proven himself; he is a reckless and over-ambitious leader who does not have the age, wisdom or even sanity to see our village re-established." Shouts of agreement echoed across the table. "It is entirely fitting that a man who killed for pleasure, who seeks the company of royalty over shinobi, should attach himself to no more than a whore."

"He is young and will ruin us with his rebellious nature!" The old man nodded as another member of the revolt shouted across the table.

"Indeed," the man sighed, "he will bring ruination to our village, all we need to do is show the village what kind of person he is and they will call upon us, the elders, to overthrow him." Everyone around the table nodded.

"But the opinion in the village is one of support; seeing Gaara with this girl, even though she is a courtesan, they believe he has a loving side!" Gasps of disbelief and mutters of disgust came in response. "They believe she can change him! She has a reputation among the village for being kind and gentle, she is the key to his current success." Again, the elder put up his hand to bring the babbling rabble back to silence.

"Then we must pull them apart, destroy their relationship; let us ruin him by taking her away and watch his self-destruction." These remarks were met by applause which was silenced by one sentence uttered at the doorway:

"Perhaps I can be of some service." Out of the shadows, like a flower being guided to sunlight, Miho slinked to join the revolt.

* * *

"And?" Gaara asked. He and Ai were sat on the marble floor of the pavilion; her white veil caught on the breeze was swirling around them as though to protect their private conversation from the world outside. The sky was dark now, they had been speaking for hours.

"And what?" Ai asked, wiping her eyes. She knelt before the Kazekage who leant against a wooden pillar, on knee bought up to his chest.

"What will you do?" He asked, unsure of what to say; he had never known his parents and what he knew of them was hurtful, who was he to advise her? Perhaps this was important, perhaps if the tables were turned she would tell him to go out into the world and search for his lost parent.

"I do not know," Ai whispered back, her hair was falling lose of the clips that held it away from her face so she unclipped her hair entirely and let it fall like dark waves of the night, down to her hips. "I do not know where there is a place for me, in this world." Gaara did not know what to say; with all his heart he wanted her here with him, always, but how could he deny her freedom?

"Find it, Ai." He said through gritted teeth and leant forwards. He took her hands in his and kissed the scar he had made there earlier.

"You think I should go?" Her bottom lip quivered.

"I think you should seek happiness." Ai let go of his hands in a huff. "What is the matter?" He asked.

"Do I have no place here?" She asked and turned away. The Kazekage sighed and ran a hand through his hair before, in his usual act of affection for her, he put his hand in her hair and pulled at it so she turned to face him. "Ah!"

"Do not assume so much of me is your enemy, Ai." He whispered in that dangerous, seductive manner he had mastered. Her glittering eyes softened as he looked at her so intently. "You always have a place, right…" He planted a soft, torturous kiss on her bottom lip, "here." Gaara pulled away from her and she smiled.

"I-"

"Kazkeage-sama!" The pair jumped and bumped heads as, yet again, they were discovered. Gaara jumped to his feet and stood protectively in front of Ai.

"What is it?" He asked the servant boy who had clearly come running in haste.

"The village is under attack." Ai gasped and put a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Who is it?" The Kazekage commanded but was already forming battle plans in his head.

"The Akatsuki; they entered the village on a giant white bird."

"Give word to Kankuro; prepare troops for aerial combat, evacuate the centre." Gaara instructed before the boy even had time to finish.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" The servant bowed and ran from the gardens. Gaara turned back to Ai.

"I have to go." As he spoke, Ai nodded. Gaara put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her.

"Be safe," Ai whispered and put her hand against his on her cheek. As he let her go she remained holding onto his hand until it was physically impossible to do so and he had to part from her. As Gaara jumped onto sand he summoned from the garden and Ai watched him ascend to meet the enemy, her eye caught the sparkle of the anklets she had dropped earlier.

Her futures were unfolding in front of her, forcing her to make a choice. What choice should she make?

* * *

**Reviews appreciated. Go on. Be my friend :)**


	18. The Girl Who Lit the Lamp: A Blue Moon

For those of you wishing to relive the "Rescue Gaara" arc and in case you want to remember what the heck this fic is referring to, this chapter is set around episodes 4-9 of the anime.

* * *

_**Chapter 18: The Girl Who Lit the Lamp/A Blue Moon**_

Work started only hours after the Kazekage's capture. Anyone and everyone who was fit to work, had to pull their weight. Children were even recruited to fit into small crevices between rubble and retrieve valuable debris from the chaos that the battle had left in its wake. Thank goodness for genin; so eager and ready to take on any task asked of them. So thrilled that every task had been bumped up to the level of a "B mission" due to the state of emergency.

Not everyone was as eager to offer a helping hand though. Elders, naturally, were exempt from such tasks, politicians and council members were given the duty of orchestrating the emergency plans, shinobi were strategising Gaara's rescue. And then, there were the courtesans. The five Houses were known to the greater community, of course. Sunagakure was the oldest dynasty on Earth, there was once a time when courtesans were in power, the ruling class. Nowadays, with their presence known and accepted, they were called upon by the public on very rare occasions. What use was a woman who knew poetry and history, or a House that contained gemstones and silk dresses, in the face of a crisis? They were not needed and the courtesans took pride in that fact; they did not have to be constrained to any manual labor.

The eldest women of the Five Houses took on tasks befitting of their skills. They partook in the funeral rituals from the temples, they spoke to and advised widows of the shinobi who had given their lives to protect the village. Seen in secret, their voices only manifested themselves as scribbled notes to the Kazekage's council.

However, there was one courtesan, the first courtesan to the Kazekage to be precise, who devoted herself to an entirely different task. Her charge was one born out of the events that unfolded that night.

~_The night of the battle, in the Palace Gardens~_

Ai watched as the boy she was desperate to hold on to, was swept up into the night. Gaara rose to meet the stars with such power and reckless abandon that those in the palace that caught a glimpse of him were frozen in awe. The Kazekage was formidable, though young, and skilled, though naive; even those untrained in shinobi skills wanted to watch the fight for Sunagakure.

Ai's stare was broken by the shouts of palace guards, warning onlookers to retreat further inside the palace. The dancer glanced around to see citizens, members of the Kazekage's court and shinobi begin to rush around in a panic. Yet, Ai did not move. She seemed to be functioning slower than she should be; her thoughts were sluggish, her pace was slow, as though she were trying to figure out her next move, even the shouts of the guards sounded slow and far away.

Again, her mind which felt fuzzy was awoken by the sound of an explosion nearby. She glanced up over the garden walls to see the Kazekage's sand take the brunt of the blast before she looked up to Gaara. The sight of him threw her back into reality. Sound returned with unapologising loudness, the village was ablaze with frantic shouting, explosions, fire, embers flying everywhere. Blue eyes narrowed on Gaara and Ai nodded at her own thought; _get to higher ground_.

She tore from the garden with haste and ran through the archway to re-enter the palace. Ai looked left; that lead to the courtesan quarters, she glanced right; that lead to the Kazekage qua…Ai looked behind her. There, nestled in the grass, glistening as though they were drops of dew in the morning, were diamond anklets left to her by her father. The girl's brow furrowed before, with a slight sigh, she ran back into the gardens, collected the anklets from the grass and continued back into the palace. She took a right turn.

Ai reached the Kazekage's balcony within minutes. She had pushed aside the door, fumbled through the curtains until, at last, she came to face-to-face with the battle. She squinted in the darkness to see a man with long, straight blonde hair, stood in a black and red cloak…the Akatsuki, it had to be! The intruder stood on a giant white bird; his hair flowing in the wind as the bird swooped through the night sky to avoid Gaara's attacks.

Ai, who had never seen a fight between shinobi, who had no idea what to expect, figured that she would find the look of the white bird comical at any other time. But in this moment the blonde figure was wreaking havoc on the village and the bird's drawn-on, emotionless features were quite terrifying. Ai looked right to see Gaara, floating on his sand, defending the village, keeping an eye on his opponent, on his own safety and on the village beneath him. It was too much for one person, surely?

The dancer glanced around the rooftops, the grounds, to see if anyone was able to help. From below, ninja were escorting and protecting civilians into shelter, at least they were saving as many as possible. On the rooftop directly opposite her, Ai spotted Kankuro, ordering shinobi to fire what looked like arrows, at the giant bird. Ai was beginning to panic, her heart was beating loudly in her chest, she could feel it pounding against her ribcage, attempting to jump into her throat. They were not prepared, it was clear. Gaara could not handle this on his own; there was too much to protect.

In less than a moment, the whole night went dark. Instinctively, Ai covered her head with her arms as the environment changed. But nothing happened; any attack she was expecting did not reach her. Ai lowered her arms and looked up to see the darkness had come because Gaara had flooded the sky with sand to protect the village from another explosion.

It was no use; with his attention on defending the village Gaara could not focus on attacking. Again, Ai looked over to Kankuro, still instructing others to fire weapons towards the intruder. Her eyes sparkled with an idea. Weapons. Something useful, something that could help. With a firm look up at Gaara, full of nothing but determination, Ai raised her hand to her forehead. The cut Gaara had made there that morning was still fresh, still ready to ooze blood. With the nail of her thumb she pierced her skin once more and did not even wince as the cut reopened. Her dark, glistening blood formed a small blob on her hairline, before seeping over, like a tear and tricking down her forehead. Ai straightened her hand and placed her palm in front of her forehead. Was this going to hurt? She had no idea.

""Kuchiyose no Jutsu (summoning jutsu)," Ai whispered. A strange feeling, like a cold egg being cracked on her forehead, started from wherever the blood touched her skin. With a soft gasp Ai felt energy leave her; that must be the chakra needed to perform the technique. "Ah," she gasped again, what an odd feeling; the cold egg on her head, her weakening knees, her vision was blurring. How did shinobi do this? It was enough to make Ai feel sick. "Ah!" A gasp of surprise this time as, from a small cloud of smoke in front of her, a glass vial appeared. She caught it mid-air and strained to see it in the darkness, after, for the fist time in her life, she used her own chakra to perform a summoning jutsu.

Inside the small glass vial, stopped with a dark, cedar wood cork, was a white, glittering powder. "Gaara!" Ai shouted and with all her might threw the vial up to the Kazekage. Did he see it? Had he even heard her? She did not know. Ai was not even aware that she had fallen to her knees. Her long black waved of hair was licking the stone floor of the balcony as she held on to the railing, desperately trying to keep her eyes on him.

But Gaara was no more than a blur, like a thick brushstroke of dark paint against the night sky. Ai's consciousness was slipping away, the blurs were all blurring into one.

_No_, Ai begged as her mind tried desperately to keep her awake. _No, please. Gaara! How will you ever know…? _Ai slipped off the balcony railing and into unconsciousness.

Several hours later, Ai had been found by Temari who entered Gaara's room while searching the palace for enemies. She spotted Ai, collapsed on the cold, hard stone of the balcony and ran over to her. The dancer had a small trickle of blood running down her temple, Temari wiped the blood away hurriedly. She called for assistance and had Ai carried to the sickbay.

No one knew what had happened to the courtesan, why she was in Gaara's room, why she had collapsed, why she was found holding onto diamond anklets so tightly the metal scratched her; all strange and unanswered questions that had to be left unasked for the moment.

_~Present Day~_

Ai was stood on that same balcony, awaiting his return. She had waited there for two days now; Ai had kept a close watch on that cold and distant dessert for any sign of his return. She did not sleep, she barely ate, she simply watched and waited. Those two days had been the same; desolate and bleak, no word, no news. Her presence on the balcony went noticed by all. Members of the court, shinobi, servants, visitors, as they passed in the gardens beneath the balcony, they would call to her:

"Beautiful one, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for him." She would answer, never letting her eyes, even for a moment, leave the landscape beyond the village.

The story of what had unfolded between Ai and Gaara was finally revealed the morning following the Kazekage's fight. Rumour spread around the palace like wildfire when Ai was found on Gaara's balcony. The whispers reached everyone inside and outside the palace. Whether a mess of lies and exaggerations or the rather complicated but endearing truth, the story of Gaara and his first love struck everyone who knew him with a thought so dark, so heart-wrenchingly cruel, that made all those loyal to Sunagakure, bow their heads in shame.

No one was shocked that Gaara was capable of loving someone, nor was anyone shocked that someone could love the feared and demonic Gaara. What resounded in the hearts of all was the realisation that Gaara had gone so long unloved. The people of Sunagakure wept for a motherless and fatherless child, abandoned from birth, raised in a cold, lonely and desperate existence. They had not given that poor child a chance, they were too fearful to open up their hearts to him. They had forbidden their children from going near the boy. How cruel, to go so long without knowing the warmth of embrace, only to be snatched from love in an instant. And how disgustingly pious, how shamefully arrogant they all had been to shun him, he who worked so hard to gain their trust. Gaara had grown into a fine man, one worthy of being named 'Kazekage'; he united their nation and welcomed even their criticism, only to better himself.

Even elder shinobi, hearing of Ai and Gaara's fate, would shake their heads as though to say "such a shame." How fitting that the young Kazekage, the reckless devilish rogue of a man should fall for a delicate girl of the Tea House, should take her heart with such unrelenting affection, only for the two of them to be pulled apart by fate! And how loyal she was! She stood on that balcony all hours of the day, all hours of the night, in the hopes that she may see him again.

From outside the palace walls, civilians, ordinary villagers, could see Ai stood on the Kazekage's balcony and had naturally began to discuss the beautiful village girl who kept such a focused vigil on the horizon. They had even noticed that she made sure to keep an oil lamp lit on Gaara's balcony, in case he should ever wander home, he would need a guiding light. The lamp was one which sat beside Ai on the balcony railing, glass coloured cream to let out a gold, glittering light. Each morning, Ai replaced the oil in the lantern and kept it burning with the belief that a lamp lit for a loved one draws the wayfarer home.

Now, at dusk, the sun was setting on the horizon; the fireflies began to gather around her as though to keep her company. Everything was bathed in a rich, bronze light; the dark gold the earth in the dessert turns before it is swallowed into darkness. Ai was at her usual place on the balcony, having tended to the lamp, she stood in an indigo dress, looking as though someone had plucked the moon out of the sky and wrapped it in inky waves of the night. At this time, prayers and dinner were being tended to, so Ai had no audience like earlier in the day. Or so she thought.

Ai had lit the lamp with the same flame that lit up the candles in the small shrine she made in Gaara's room. Perched at the centre of that shrine, was a statue of the god Raijin who, as usual, watched Love with curiosity.

The god captured in stone sighed at the sight of a broken heart. And who was this girl anyway that she thought to share the flame for a god with the flame for a mortal? It was blasphemous! From his red stone cage Raijin watched Ai every morning prepare prayers in front of him and then proceed to the ritual of keeping enough oil in the lamp on the balcony. How strange! What love was this?

"Enough, Ai." Raijin's thoughts all stopped as once as someone new entered the Kazekage's room. This woman seemed to have a lot of power over the girl called 'Ai', for the young woman dressed in indigo turned to the doorway with a look of utter melancholy. The indigo silk she wore had a thick border of antique gold and the way the veil fell from her head and dragged on the floor behind her indicated that the thread used was actual gold.

Megumi looked over to Ai, through the doorway that lead to the balcony, with a heavy heart. Two days had gone by with no news, the chances were getting slimmer with every hour that trickled by. Ai, so sweetly childish and frustratingly stubborn; she had shut herself away in the palace, thinking only of the Kazekage. She performed prayers in his room separately to the rest of the household; her unorthodox manner was creating a flurry of whispers about the Tea House and the reckless girl it bore.

The young dancer lowered her gaze before turning back to look out of the balcony.

"Two days, Ai." Megumi continued and walked forwards. "I gave you two days and Gaara has not returned."

"Give me a century and I would not move from this place." Ai responded dreamily, her voice trailing into the room on a breeze.

"AI!" Megumi raised her voice the loudest Ai had ever heard it; the young courtesan turned around with a look of panic. Her teacher joined her on the balcony and raised a shaking finger at the lamp. "A single flame is not sustenance; who do you think is providing for you while you reside in this palace?" Finally Ai's attention was caught; without provisions, how was she to stay here at all? "In a state of emergency the courtesans are the last to be looked after." Megumi warned her, "the funds the Kazekage had for you are no longer being taken care of. Our presence in the palace rests only on the assumption that Gaara will return." The candles in the room quivered, even the lantern Ai had kept alight seem to burn a little less bright upon hearing Megumi's foreboding words. Ai looked to the floor, down to the gold trim of her veil as it fell heavy against the stone. Her vision began to blur with tears, her bottom lip trembled as she felt that familiar weakness in her soul, at the thought of losing him. The girl was being overtaken by a nothingness, by an emptiness that licked at her insides. What was life without him?

"Megumi-sama, please give me one more-" Ai pleaded but her teacher could not be patient any more; the elder held up a hand to the girl to silence her.

"My heart is breaking for you, Ai." Megumi put the hand she had raised against Ai's face. "Rumours around the Tea House are vicious; that I raised a rebellious and feisty dancer…they would not be half wrong." The women both laughed as a tear fell from Ai's big blue eyes. "But there are wonderful, beautiful rumours about you and your precious Kazekage." Ai looked puzzled; she had been so isolated she had no idea what was going on outside. "Both of you are gaining respect and admiration far faster, far greater than anyone could imagine-"

"Wha-"

"And you are no longer my child." Megumi interrupted her student with a sigh. "You know where your roots lie and now you know where your heart is kept." Ai nodded slowly, "so I can only advise you as best I can." The aged and wise courtesan took her hand away from Ai's face and flicked her head as an affectionate way of showing the girl she was being naive. "Act smart."

"Smart?"

"Do not neglect what is important or real. Gaara is not here in this moment. What was keeping you here is lost." Megumi explained. "You must face reality; money to keep you at the palace will cease to be given to the Tea House and we cannot support you here. The Kazekage made no commitments to you. You must engage with us as best you can, blend in, do not make yourself an obvious target to the higher ups. Now that your relationship with the Kazekage has been made public, your courtesan etiquette must adapt. And in his absence, you must be smart about things. Join us for prayers at least." Ai lowered her gaze; Megumi was right. Ai had shut herself away following Gaara's capture. The world moved on without her; she was holding on to that moment in the gardens, to that last look of reassurance the Kazekage had given her.

Before Ai could respond, however, someone ran into the room. A young servant boy entered and bowed hastily. Aware that Megumi was the eldest, he turned to address her first.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Ai-sama has visitors at the palace gates." Both Megumi and Ai raised an eyebrow at the boy; 'visitors' who stayed at the palace gates and called for a member of the Kazekage's court were usually civilians. What on Earth would civilians want to speak to Ai about?

* * *

The servant escorted Ai and Megumi to the palace gates which, though usually open, were closed in respect to the Kazekage's absence. The wooden gates, with wooden bars, stood between the courtesans and the villagers and, as the two women approached, they found that it was not a few civilians that had called for Ai; there was a crowd gathered outside. With the sun vanishing fast in the sky, someone had begun to light the lanterns in the street. Ai pulled her veil back over her head and approached the gate with caution.

"Y-yes?" She called out uncertainly, suddenly aware of how young she was. A middle aged man with a gruff voice called to her:

"Are you the girl who keeps the lamp lit?" He asked, "up in the Kazekage's balcony?" As Ai finally reached the gate she looked around at the gathered crowd and saw mothers holding their babies, children holding on to the wooden bars of the gates, trying to get a good look at her. All with sad, tired eyes. She nodded.

"Yes, I am." As she spoke an elderly woman, so ancient her grandchildren were helping her hold up a small clay bowl to Ai.

"Take this." The woman spoke softly. Ai did not want to take the bowl straight away. Courtesans, prostitutes, were not acknowledged so openly, were they mocking her? But how could she distrust a village elder? She chose to pretend that she was fixing her veil so could not take the bowl, before she enquired:

"What is it?"

"Oil." A mother, a few feet away spoke to Ai kindly. "From the temple in the square." The mother smiled at Ai with an affection the girl was not familiar with. Ai blushed, beginning to feel overwhelmed.

"You are from the Tea House, yes?" The elder had a soft, crackly voice, like a dying fire. Ai nodded slowly, fearful they may shun her. The woman grinned; "your beauty and poise are explained." The elderly lady held out the bowl and Ai took it. " Keep the lamp burning for another night." Ai gasped.

"Thank you." She spoke softly for the woman before taking a step back to address the crowd. "Thank you. I am lost for words. This is so kind." Many nodded at her thanks, a few even wiped their eyes.

"The Kazekage is so young." A man muttered nearby.

"He is our protection. Our salvation." Another added. "His capture is a great loss to us all." Again, nods of agreement, murmurs of support. The mother who was cradling her child frowned as a tear fell down her face.

"You, gentle one, have shown us that the beast is no monster." She said as she rocked the child in her arms. "Gaara has gone too long feared. He was another woman's child but he never knew affection. It is a great shame on our village that he went so long alone. He is a good man." Ai felt her eyes being to well with tears; whoever thought it would come to this? _Gaara, can you hear them?_ "Keep the lantern burning, dear one."

"Yes." Ai whispered before realising she must address the crowd. She took another step back and shouted to the villagers of Sunagakure. "Yes!" As the villagers left, all nodded to her in appreciation, many wiped their eyes, a few children smiled up at her, a few of the boys even blushed as she smiled at them. They dispersed, leaving Ai holding onto the wood of the palace gates, never having experienced such trust, such devotion, in all her life. _Gaara, can you see them? _Tears streamed down Ai's face as she rested her head against the wood of the gates. _Where are you, beloved?_

Her teacher put a hand on her shoulder and spoke: "The village is looking to you, Ai. The time to take action is now; what will you do?" Ai turned to her with swollen eyes; how many times must she face choices she feels to young, to naive to even comprehend? With a sigh, the girl made up her mind.

"Prepare a place for me in the palace temple. I shall be at evening prayers."

* * *

In her indigo dress, anklets tinkling, antique gold jewellery glittering around her, Ai walked towards the sickbay to speak with the Kazekage's siblings before she attended prayers. She walked alone, as she had become accustomed to in these past few weeks. It was unusual to see a courtesan without an entourage of women around her but Ai, having a secret relationship with the Kazekage had meant she had to sneak around alone a lot of the time. She was used to her own company and had no fear at all as she did not even look at the palace member she was approaching; Ai simply bowed her head in respect and carried on.

_Ai._ At the sound of her name Ai turned around in alarm.

"Did you call for me?" Ai asked a boy, stood across the hallway, possibly a year younger than her, with a mess of blonde hair. He lifted her head to face her.

"No…" The boy's voice, husky and full of surprise, trailed off as they appraised one another. "Do I-"

"Know you?" They spoke at the same time and jumped as they did so. Ai looked the boy up and down as he did the same to her. She found it quite endearing that he should wear his forehead protector with such pride; she could think of no other shinobi she met who actually wore it across their forehead. Ai opened her mouth to speak but found that there was something about him, something so welcoming and familiar…Her blue eyes took in that forehead protector one last time and she smiled in confusion; Konoha reinforcements had arrived?

Ai took a step back in surprise as the boy leant in to her closely, inspecting her face intently. Out of his black and orange jacket fell a blue crystal, held around his neck by a thin strap of black leather. Ai caught a glimpse as it flashed in the light.

"I'm sure we've never met." Ai spoke first and the boy nodded.

"I don't think we have." He smiled at her, a big toothy grin that was enough to make Ai smile too. "Guess you look like someone familiar."

"I guess so." Ai responded sweetly.

"Naruto," Ai and the boy she now knew was called Naruto, looked down the hallway to see a pretty girl with pink hair and an older shinobi with spiky silver hair walking up to the two of them. "Temari wants to speak with us." The girl seemed to notice Ai and waved at her in greeting. "Hello! I am Sakura, from Konoha." She said brightly. As Ai nodded a greeting, the older ninja appraised her.

"Hatake, Kakashi," he introduced himself and suddenly Ai felt at ease; in truth she had never spent time with anyone her age who was 'normal', only other dancers, musicians and, now that she thought about it, Gaara. Her only other company growing up was adults, so her panic of meeting two normal teenage shinobi ebbed away as Kakashi nodded to her. "We are here to assist Sunagakure." Any trace of happiness left Ai's face, her expression became entirely serious as she bowed to him.

"I am Ai." She said softly before standing to her full height. She retreated a little as she saw Kakashi look her up and down as though trying to figure her out. Before anyone could speak, however, Sakura stepped forwards and pointed directly at Ai's forehead.

"Did you get that yesterday during all the chaos?" She asked and before Ai had a chance to even respond, the pink haired girl tilted her head with a smile. "I'm a medic- I can get rid of any scarring if you'd like-"

"No!" Naruto and Sakura jumped as Ai raised her voice and covered her forehead with her hand. "I mean, no..thank you." She continued. There was a moment of silence in which the Konoha kunoichi raised an eyebrow and looked Ai up and down. "Please ensure the safe return of our Kazekage." She requested.

"Isn't that why you're hanging around here?" Naruto asked her and Ai shook her head in confusion. "To help with the rescue?" The girl smiled apologetically.

"I'm afraid not."

"Ooooooh, I get it!" Ai, Sakura and Kakashi looked at him blankly. "You're Gaara's girlfriend!" Naruto puffed out his chest as though proud of his deductive skills. Ai blushed and smiled a little.

"Not exactly, Naruto." Ai's smile faded as Kakashi spoke; had he figured her out so quickly?

"Eh?" Naruto looked between Ai and Kakashi who seemed to be staring at one another, "what do you mean?"

"I would not want to keep you from your meeting." Ai spoke quickly and turned to Naruto with a small smile, "I'm sure we'll meet again, Naruto." The blonde shinobi began to blush, threw a hand behind his head and rubbed his neck in embarrassment and girl in indigo looked over her shoulder and smiled at them before continuing on her way.

"Is she a princess?" Naruto asked as the girl vanished down the hallway. "She speaks so proper and stands up straight…and she's very beautiful," Naruto added as an after thought. Sakura was curious too; why had her sensei gone quiet about addressing Ai? Both students looked up to their teacher who smiled and closed his eyes at them.

"Time for questions later. We have a meeting to attend."

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**No Gaara in this chapter. We're all missing him :(**

**Review please!**


	19. The Death of the Godaime Kazekage

I hope this works.

* * *

_**Chapter 19: The Death of the Godaime Kazekage**_

**Where can my tired soul wander to, to find my lost innocence? My lost dreams? My lost childhood?**

**Where has disappeared the warmth in which I made myself a home? **

**Where will I find again a friend, a family…love?**

**Did I ever find my purpose? Was I ever needed?**

**Was I ever wanted?**

**I am no longer the man I was.**

**Was that not enough…to save me from this end?**

**Ai. **

**Why are you so far away?**

"Gaara?" someone breathed his name as the young Kazekage opened his eyes and came across a familiar and foreboding sight. Towering above him, leaning over the young shinobi, glaring at him as though it had never seen a man before, a racoon-like beast with a painted face, stood, observant, unnaturally quiet.

**Is that my name? **Thoughts came so numbingly slow, tumbling over each other in his disoriented state. The Kazekage could not feel the tips of his fingers, nor the ground beneath him. His vision was blurred, causing him to blink and even that seemed to take all the energy he had. The beast breathed a heavy sigh upon realising the boy was finding it hard to adjust to this place. As Shukaku's breath ruffled the hair on Gaara's head, some sense of existing came back to the man. As in the moments before you wake from sleep, a heaviness returned to Gaara and he became aware of his own body.

Slowly, he held out his hand to the beast as though beckoning it. But as he raised his limb limply, he glanced at fingertips, as they stretched towards the light. **Is that…_my _hand? **He could feel himself beginning to breathe a little easier. **But who exactly was I?…No, who _am _I? **The beast beyond his hand came back into focus and slowly, unsteadily, Gaara sat up. The Biju above him moved back to give him some room. As the Kazekage raised himself, all notion of existence, of time and space, were forgotten.

**What…what is this place?** Looking around him all Gaara could see was nothingness. Empty and infinite, white and luminous, a vacuum containing only him and this monster. Nothingness. As far as the eye could see.

Nothingness. The Kazekage winced, a weakness ran through his whole body and his legs shook as he struggled to stand. As he did so, he heard the clanking of a chain. Looking to the floor he saw the thick, grey links of a chain, rusted and worn out. He followed it with his eyes from where it tied around his foot, to where it snaked along the floor and up into the air, to rest, locked in place, around a collar on the beast. The chain was flaking with rust, wearing away.

"We are before the gates." Shukaku spoke suddenly and Gaara turned his head to look around for any sign of a gate. But as he looked out into that white, luminous plane, a feeling of remembrance came back to him.

**I should not be here**, Gaara's thoughts were echoing around him; **I was…doing something.** It felt like trying to piece back together a puzzle that he only had half the pieces for. His mind was fuzzy, his memory hazy…he was doing something, going somewhere, to speak to someone, to tell them something important, what was it? **What was it?**

"This is the end, Gaara." Again, the beast spoke and caught the jinchuriki's attention. **I was Gaara once…before you…**What were these memories? Shades of black, blue and red…enemies? Lovers? Gaara cleared his head and glanced up at Shukaku.

"The end of us?" Boy and beast stood, side by side, looking out into the blank void before them as flakes of rust from the chain were caught on an unknown breeze and floated away.

"The end of you, the end of I." Shukaku's voice boomed into the infinite plane. "What is the difference? We are one and the same." Gaara's brow furrowed.

**No…someone showed me that's not true. **Like a bolt of lightening, something struck inside of Gaara's mind and he shot a look of panic and realisation at Shukaku. Gaara opened his mouth to speak.

"At least," the monster interrupted whatever the boy was going to say, "that's what I used to think." "Before you found a bigger purpose, before you realised you could gain recognition from your peers, your village and your elders. Before you met that moonbeam of yours." The one-tails began to laugh with nostalgia. "She really spoke _nohingo_ beautifully, didn't she? It sounded like a lullaby to me!" A vision of blue eyes floated into Gaara's head, something beautiful, something far away. He knew someone like that once, didn't he? **Now your blood beats through my aching heart.**

"She?" He asked.

"That poets dream, that summer rose, that girl from which all loveliness flows!" Shukaku let out a booming laugh which echoed in the boy's head. "Have you so easily forgotten the girl who would whisper to you and I in the dead of night, to calm our arguments, to appease our appetites? She, who acknowledged the division between us?" Gaara looked out into the nothingness. There, he saw her.

"Ai."

* * *

"Ai?" Kankuro spoke suddenly as he realised the dancer's attention was no longer on him. Ai had looked over suddenly to the doorway as though she were expecting someone to walk in. "Ai?" The girl's dark hair fell off her shoulders as she turned to see Kankuro staring at her with a bemused look.

"I apologise, Kankuro-san," Ai bowed her head quickly, "I thought I heard someone say my name." Standing from her chair, the girl retrieved a wet towel from a small bowl to dab Kankuro's head. "What is it you were saying?"

"_You _were the one talking, Ai." The girl paused with the towel dangling precariously in her hand and above Kankuro's head, she looked straight at the man and frowned.

"Was I?"

"Maybe you are the one who needs the hospital bed…?" Kankuro asked kindly but Ai seemed to be lost. Again, she looked to the door.

"I apologise; I have been a little out of sorts lately." She kept her eyes fixed on the door for a few moments longer before turning back to Kankuro and dabbing his head with the wet cloth. The two were in the sickbay, Ai was tending to Kankuro's recovery and offering him some company in the late afternoon.

Sakura, from the Leaf Village, had saved Kankuro's life following his battle with a member of the Akatsuki. All shinobi were then briefed for the rescue mission and left, with the Konoha shinobi, last night. Now, the palace seemed empty and Kankuro's usually cheery demeanour had faded. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink into the bones of the palace's inhabitants.

In the emptiness of the Kazekage's absence, Ai had snuck away to visit Kankuro, almost hoping for sanctuary in his kind words. But as they contemplated the situation, in that cold, overly disinfected hospital room, beneath that horrible white light, no one could find peace.

"Do you," Kankuro spoke up in the uncomfortable silence, his usually painted face now bare and coloured grey with fatigue. He cleared his throat, "do you feel any different?" Ai continued to dab his forehead, calmly, as though it were a delicate procedure, before she brought the white cloth back over the water bowl and wrung it out. As the water trickled out of the towel with that soothing, pitter-patter sound, Kankuro interrupted its calm. "Do you feel-" Ai threw the towel into the bowl.

"What nonsense are you asking me?" Ai turned to him sharply and Kankuro almost cowered as she raised her voice. Water had splashed out of the bowl, all over the table it was placed on.

"Ai-"

"Why should I feel any different?" Ai pulled her veil over her head haughtily. "What are you asking?" She muttered under her breath as though she didn't want to hear it.

"He is my little brother." The corner of her vision began to blur as Kankuro spoke hoarsely. "I feel different when he is in a meeting, when he is training genin, when he is travelling…" Ai gasped and knelt by the bed as Kankuro winced through angry tears as though frustrated with himself. "I don't feel him here anymore." As Ai closed her eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek, she grasped Kankuro's hand. "You," the boy gasped, "you are a part of him." Never before had Kankuro let emotion get the better of him; not when his mother passed away, he hadn't even reacted when he discovered his father died. But Gaara seemed to come into his life much later; the real, true Gaara, not controlled by murderous intent. Now, to lose his little brother; It was something unbearable. "I saw you in every decision he made; he chose to eat in the gardens per chance he could catch a glimpse of you walking by. He demanded we throw out all playing cards from the palace after quarrelling with you." Kankuro grasped Ai's hand tightly as they looked at one another. "Ai, where is my little brother?" Ai bowed her head as tears seeped from her eyes.

The sound of footsteps fell into the room and Ai quickly wiped her tears before standing. With what little strength he hand, Kankuro wiped his eyes hurriedly. Ai turned to the door to leave and bowed her head as Temari entered to the room. Ai kept her eyes cast downwards as she passed Temari, still very much ashamed of her scolding from the blonde shinobi the last time they met.

"Are you leaving?" Ai stopped dead in the doorway, her eyes widened with shock at being addressed so casually by Temari. She turned slowly but kept her gaze on the floor.

"I am sure you have much to discuss, Temari-sama." As Ai spoke, Kankuro shot a dangerous look at his sister; protective and aggressive, Kankuro was not in favour of seeing Ai mistreated.

"What do I do, Ai?" Temari's voice, usually so strong, so defiant, now sounded like the frail and timid voice of a frightened child. Ai glanced up to see Temari with one hand on her hip, her face in her other hand, taken short, rapid breaths. "We told him not to see you and he could see nothing else. We told him to forget you but you were all he thought about. We told him not to go to you and he ran." Her face flushed pink, her bottom lip trembled. "Why won't he come now?" Temari turned to Ai, her eyes pleading. "Why is he still not listening to me?" Ai ran forwards and embraced Temari.

They stood there a while, Temari crying on Ai's shoulder, clutching at her dress, trying to relieve some of this agony. After some time, they sat on chairs beside Kankuro's bed, in silence, wondering why Gaara could no longer hear their pleas for his safe return.

* * *

Gaara blinked into the whiteness as he saw the figure of a girl on the horizon. He took an unsteady step towards her and marvelled at the new sensation of feeling he acquired in his legs as he used them. He looked down to his legs and took another step, watching as the chain around his ankle began to fade away.

"Gaara?" The boy looked up to Shukaku, whose outline was turning into a greenish, blueish hue, his true colours fading, his presence dissolving.

**Yes? **Gaara thought, his body too weak to let him speak. The beast looked down to Gaara, almost with affection.

"I return now." As the biju spoke, Gaara nodded. Shukaku and Gaara stared at each other with mutual understanding; what do you say to someone who was shackled to you without consent? "Goodbye."

**Goodbye, Shukaku. **The beast began to fade completely, leaving Gaara alone in this desolate place.

The Kazekage turned back to the figure he had spotted on the horizon. She was making her way to him, hesitantly, stopping occasionally and looking back as though wondering if she were walking in the right direction. Bathed in a golden light, like the vision of a goddess, she approached.

Gaara gasped upon glancing at her face; she looked so different, so beautiful, older even! Wrapped in colours of white and gold, her usual gemstone jewellery replaced with thick gold bands; she looked like an empress. Her usually natural and doll-like face was painted differently, a slick lick of black lined her eyes as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. Even her hair was different, it fell in sweet ringlets around her face and was held back by a golden tiara. Red velvety lips curved into a soft smile as she approached him in that usual seductive manner.

"Who is it you ask for, stranger?" She enquired sweetly.

**Ai**, Gaara thought, **must you play your foolish games at a time like this? **The young Kazekage almost fell to his knees when she smiled at him mischievously.

"I must!" She protested, her smile turning into a smirk. The boy watched as her blue eyes sparkled silver with mischief. "Who is it you are asking for?" Gaara, so tired, so longing to hold her in his arms, to sleep in her embrace, smiled.

**A girl. **Ai raised her eye brows in mock-surprise.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and folded her arms. "Describe her to me." The girl demanded and tilted her head to indicate that she was waiting to hear him speak; her raindrop shaped earrings tinkled as she did so. "Ah!" She gasped as Gaara took a step towards her. The roguish Kazekage looked her in the eye and there was something beckoning, welcoming, dangerous in his stare that made Ai's arms unfold in surrender. With another step forwards, Gaara put a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face towards him. He watched with a sense of nostalgia, as that smirk was wiped off her face.

**I look for the girl who hides herself in cherry blossom, only to be revealed in the sweetness of its fragrance. The one who whispers in melody, who flirts with light and flits between shadows. **Ai pushed his finger away from her but he grabbed her wrist as she did so and brought her closer. **My dusk, my night, my universe. The one so beautiful I crafted her into poetry and wore her. **The Kazekage lifted his free hand and indicated the kanji on his forehead. Ai tried to wriggle free but his intense stare paralysed her; her expression was fearful, disbelieving. **My declaration of belief-**

"Belief?" Ai breathed

**In miracles. **Gaara tilted her face towards him once more and leant in until he were a mere inch from her. **How else would one explain moonlight in the day? **Gaara released her. That moonlike girl glanced at him coyly and smiled in a 'come-hither' manner, before biting her lip and taking another step back.

Gaara was smiling faintly as Ai slinked away from him mischievously. **Where are you going?**

"Somewhere you can't follow!" She breathed as Gaara shook his head at her. With what little energy remained, he let out an airy laugh.

* * *

"Ah," Ai awoke with a slight start, with the feeling that someone was around her. On Earthly planes, the young courtesan had been drifting deep in slumber, only to be woken by a sound so familiar, but she could not quite place it.

From under white silk sheets, Ai emerged, sat up and glanced around. She was in her room in the palace, this was the third time she had slept there. White net curtains were draped around the bed and obscured her view of the room around her. Gently she parted the drapes with her slender finger tips and pulled them back. Her blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she looked out to her balcony.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She asked, wondering if she had in fact seen a shadow move on her balcony, or if it had just been a cloud passing over the moon. Pulling the curtains back, Ai stood from the bed, reached over for the lantern that was lit on a table next to her. Holding the base of the oil lamp, Ai placed a shawl on her shoulders and walked through the balcony doors, into the nighttime.

From the balcony she blinked, sleepily, at the world around her. Her face illuminated by the soft glow from the lantern, she searched the gardens for any sign of him. Her soft waves of hair swaying around her.

"Ai?" Megumi called to her from a window nearby but the girl did not look around, she was focussed on the world beyond the palace. "What are you doing?"

"I heard someone laughing…" Ai answered dreamily.

"At this time of the morning? The sun is about to rise. You must be mistaken," the elder assured her, "ready yourself for prayers and come quickly."

"Yes," Ai nodded slowly and turned back to her room. "Mistaken."

* * *

**I cannot follow you, Ai. **Gaara protested but Ai, who was slowly disappearing from view away now, called back to him.

"What's that in your pocket?" As she spoke, Gaara's brow furrowed, he seemed to become aware of a weight in his pocket. Looking down he was surprised to see the red cotton of his civilian robes. He placed his hand into his pocket uncertainly and clasped hold of a large silver pendant. From his pocket, he lifted out a broken pearl necklace. Pearls fell free of the chain and scattered onto the floor.

* * *

Ai's veil fell from her head as a breeze rushed in out of nowhere, into the temple, blowing out a few candles in the room. Ai turned from the shrine to look towards the doors.

"Ai?" Megumi did not move her sight from the shrine in front of her but noticed her student's movement. Ai had turned away in the middle of prayers. "Ai?" The elder courtesan felt the fabric of her student's dress as Ai turned back to face the shrine.

"Excuse me, Megumi-sama, I thought I heard…" What is it she had heard? Such a familiar sound…_What was that?_ Ai wondered to herself as women around the room began to relight the candles that the cruel wind had snuffed out.

Ai bowed her head as her teacher lit the incense on the low table in front of them. The two were sat at the front the morning prayer ceremony in the palace's main temple. The room, a sandy stone room full of golden light from hanging candles and lanterns lining the wall, was full of women of the Tea House. In all shades of the rainbow, bathed in golden light, they sat on the floor in rows before the shrine.

An eight foot tall statue of Raijin stood impressively at the centre of the shrine, that rich reddish brown stone, found in caverns beyond the dessert, was carved into the god's stately figure. Intricate, ornate, glowing as though light came from him, Raijin towered above the smaller gods that sat either side of him. The room was hot, filling with the scent of sandalwood, spicy and rich, from the incense and trays of flowers that lay about the place. Megumi continued the prayer, reciting from scriptures in the dead language, the women behind her sang softly as temple bells chimed above them. Ai kept her gaze down on the scripture in front of her, reciting under her breath.

On heavenly planes her lover stood, beckoning her.

Gaara tried to catch as many of the pearls as possible but they bounced all around him and seemed to fall over the edge of the whiteness that surrounded him. He looked up, hoping to see Ai laughing at his clumsiness, but to his dismay, she was not there. Hi brow furrowed.

**Ai? **

"If you are inattentive, Ai, you may retire from morning prayers." Megumi said haughtily as, yet again, her student had turned away from the shrine. Was she looking to the doors?

"Apologies," Ai said feebly and turned her attention back to her recitation.

Ai's chest felt heavy, her wrists weak; was she losing sight of what was real? _I know I can hear you, Gaara, _she thought before closing her eyes tightly as though wanting to be rid of the sound of his voice. _Am I going mad? _

Ai stood as the other women did, following Megumi's lead. The girl's white skirt lifted up as she stood, the thick red border licked the floor gently as the skirt swayed. Simply dressed, a blouse of white with that same red border, Ai was dressed like any other village girl. All that would give her away were the thin strands of gold that she had tied around each of her ankles.

As the temple bells tinkled, so did the jewellery of the dancers as they all moved around the room to place flowers, light candles and pay respects to the deities. Ai picked up a tray of flowers and stood with many women of the Tea House, Megumi and Miho included, and threw blossoms softly into the small bath of water at the front of the shrine. Ai's blank expression did not go unnoticed by her peers.

Gaara looked around for that moonbeam but she had disappeared. **No, **he could not face the end like this. Not alone. Not without her.

**Ai, please come back!**

In the palace temple, the sound of a silver tray clattering against the stone floor, echoed around the room. The red blossoms were swept up on the breeze and all in the room watched with rising alarm, as their youngest dancer turned, wide-eyed, with a panicked expression, to the doors. He was there. He was calling her.

_Gaara!_

"Ai!" Megumi shouted and moved towards her. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I…." but the girl did not know what to say. _Why is this happening?_

"What exactly-?"

"I heard laughter at daybreak." Ai interrupted her teacher who merely shrugged.

"Just your imagination getting the better of you." Megumi said wisely. _No! Why don't they understand?_

"His voice-"

"Whose voice?" Megumi's expression turned dark as Ai began to raise her voice, as she began to gesture towards the doors and look around at everyone as thought pleading.

"The pearls of a broken necklace!" Ai protested as though that explained everything.

"What necklace?!"

"The one that scarred me here!" Ai lifted her hand to her forehead, her fingers were trembling, her eyes were burning with tears. _Am I going mad?_

**Where are you, Ai?**

"Gaara!" Ai looked to the doors and tore from the room in an instant. Like startled birds, the women fluttered out of her way as she exited the temple with haste. Her white and red veil had fallen from her head but clung to her shoulder and dragged on the floor behind her.

"Ai!" Frantic shouting tried to call her back but Ai was already out in the first rays of sunshine, running along the walkway that lined each palace floor.

_I know I can hear you. _She thought determinedly as she took the stairs that lead into the gardens. _I know it is you, Gaara._

Her feet fell hard on the marble as she ran, in silk slippers, through the palace. Only he was in her thoughts; he was calling her, she had to go to him! _Where are you, Gaara? _Her heart was pounding fit to burst, her anklets almost unhooked as she ran. Faster and faster. _Give me some sign Gaara. _

**Ai, please don't leave me here. **Gaara fell to his knees and pleaded with her.

Hot, full tears ran down Ai's face and she tried to wipe them away to see where she was going. _I'm coming, Gaara, I won't leave you alone_.

There! In the distance, beyond the Kazekage's balcony, was a white shimmering light. How could she explain it? How could anyone?

"Ai, stop!" Palace officials called for her as her veil unwrapped itself from her and was dragged away on a breeze and into the palace gardens. She did not stop, she could not even hear this world anymore.

**Just one more minute. One more minute and I swear to remember every feature of your face, the way you smile, the way you breathe…just another moment to remember you. **His face screwed up with the pain of realising this was it. Gaara's knuckles turned white as his fingers dug into his knees. This was the end. **Ai, why are you so far away?**

_No, Gaara, I'm a few steps from you. _Ai pushed open the doors of the Kazekage's chambers and almost tumbled into the room. _Don't give up. Don't give up!_

"Ah!" Ai almost cried out in the pain of grief, for as she looked for that shimmering light it was no more. The room was dark. Empty.

**Ai. How will you ever know…?**

She fell to her knees. _How will you ever know…?_

**That I'm in love with you?**

_That I'm in love with you?_


	20. For the Village

**Hello, apologies for the incredibly late update. Hope you are all having wonderful starts to 2016.**

**By the way, the tumblr for RTK is being updated over the next few weeks so if you're interested in understanding more about the fic, do check it out: dot com.**

**_Chapter 20_**

**_For the Village_**

The palace baths, once a place of jubilant commotion, were now left empty. Built right at the edge of the palace with a glass dome ceiling, the giant rectangular bath had its water warmed by the desert sun. Streaming in through the glass, reflecting off the antique gold metal of the surrounding furnishings. Lanterns, unlit at this time of day, lined the walls with delicate glass shades; with the sunlight their gold holsters shimmered and reflected off the water in the bath. The room was alive with light, twinkling as though talking, as though to give company to a frequent visitor.

A girl lay on the side of the bath, fully clothed in black cotton, that same antique gold around her ankles, wrists and neck. Unmoved by the beauty of the sunset through the glass ceiling, uncaring for the water that was lapping at her foot as she dangled it over the edge of the bath. Her eyes, red and tired, her body weak and aching, she sighed. Love had had enough of this world.

From her hair she removed a hair clip; the shape of a peacock made out of a peach-coloured crystal, she let loose the needle that clasped the clip to her hair. Slowly, feeling as though her body were not her own, Ai cut across the tip of her ring finger. She watched with no trace of emotion, with no response to the pain, as the blood oozed out of her self-inflicted wound and ran down her finger. Lowering her hand into the water, Ai looked up to the ceiling as the blood seeped into the bath. The crimson unfurled like ribbons into the water and slowly, her eyes turned wide and hopeless and tears rolled, warm and unwelcome, down her face.

"You were in love with him?" Ai did not flinch as her friend spoke from the shadowed doorway; slinking into the light, a beautiful girl with emerald eyes glittered in silver and appraised our heroine with a keen eye. Ai breathed a little.

"I am." She conceded. Miko walked over to the edge of the bath, opposite her friend.

"But the Kazekage is dead." Miko announced to the empty room, questioning Ai's choice of phrasing; surely the girl meant to say '_I was_?' "You said it so yourself." Miko reiterated. No emotion entered Ai's face, no quiver in her voice:

"Yes." She breathed, bringing her hand out of the water to rest on her stomach. The droplets of water ran down her hand, gliding over her fingertips and onto her clothes, the black become blacker, her skin becoming colder. "But our hearts beat in unison and so they cease in unison" she murmured. "We are the same." Miko, whose eye had been trailing into the water, looked across to her friend suddenly, disbelieving what she was hearing.

"You are dead?" She asked.

"Why not be?-"

"Don't speak like this, Ai." Miko interrupted her, not wanting to hear something that might be true, not wanting to hear something that might stop her from keeping true to her task. She walked swiftly around the bath until she towered over Ai like a beautiful willow tree; her long brown curls dancing in a soft breeze as she looked down at her friend. "I was your sister, and yet I did not know what was happening between you and a man you would give your life for." As she spoke, Ai raised herself to sit up, and brought her knees to her chest. As she did so, the edge of her skirt fell into the bath; the black material swirled in the gentle current, unnoticed and unimportant to the girl who wore it.

Miko knelt down beside Ai and pushed her hair from her forehead affectionately. Finally, Ai looked up to her; Ai's bottom lip trembled, her eyes glittered and she gasped:

"I am sorry." Miko drew her into embrace and Ai cried, whimpered, on her shoulder.

"I cannot believe it is true." Miko said after a moment of letting Ai compose herself. From her shoulder, into which Ai had burrowed, a soft voice issued.

"Believe what?"

"That Gaara could fall in love." Miko gasped in surprise as she felt Ai's shoulders lift and fall as the girl began to laugh. "What?"

"Love?" Ai moved away from Miko to look her in the eye. "Gaara does not love." Miko raised an eyebrow and felt Ai's head as though to check for a fever. But Ai pushed her hand away and continued to look at her with that dangerous glint in her eye. "If you knew him, you would hurt like this too."

"No one knew him." Miko almost laughed, "Gaara kept like the dark side of the moon; out of sight!" Again, Ai laughed. "He let everyone think he was driven by madness, a curse! How was any girl ever to get close to him?" As she spoke, Ai shook her head with a small smile, round teardrops rolling down her worn face. A few moments passed before Miko spoke; "tell me about him." Ai cast her gaze downwards. To remember him, in between the sorrow, amidst the pain, was the memory of something beautiful.

"How else would you expect a prince of our time to behave?" Ai whispered to the water, "how else should the moon keep secret it's darkness other than to hide it? And what good would madness do if it infected the minds of mortals?" Miko leant in closer, a small, malicious smile spreading across her face; so it was far-off look, that gleam in her eyes, that smile that never left her face…Ai was in love. Miko watched as her friend's blue eyes glazed over and focussed on something far off and wonderful. "The Kazekage…Gaara, was everything I thought a man could be. Wise and strong, talented and rational; he would have lead this village into a new age." Miko leant in closer to listen and adopted a look of bemusement; how strange to hear of a more personable side to Gaara of the desert. Ai smiled, "princely though, a little spoilt." Memories on the rooftop floated back into her memory and her smile faded a little. "Arrogant and aggressive," her smile faded completely, "violent even." Ai lifted her skirt out of the water of the bath and wrung out the water gently. "But," Ai gasped, her cheeks flushing red from the effort to contain her emotions, "amidst all that bravery and ferocity, was someone naive…someone who could not, to the _agony_ of others, understand even their own heart."Ai laughed at her own predicament. "I never heard him say it," she admitted to her friend with a shake of her head; "he never confessed his love for me. That is what makes this so unbearable." Ai's bottom lip trembled and she looked away as her friend leant in closer.

"What do you mean?" Miko asked softly as Ai closed her eyes tightly, large, round tears falling down her face.

"Gaara does not love. He lures you in with that handsome face and roguish charm and binds you to some darkness that you can never be rid of." Ai whispered, "you will forever crave him, want him, _ache_ for him. For all the softness in his eyes, for his wandering touch, for his temper," the girl laughed. "When you shut your eyes you will not be rid of the sight of him. When the wind blows your hair from your shoulder you will turn as if to find him beside you." She fell silent and after a moment her brow furrowed, "no. It does not feel like love."

"Then?" Miko urged her, "what is it?"

"_Ketsueki ai_." Blood-love needs no translation. Even Miko understood what this meant. So it was true. "Otherwise," Miko, whose mind had been wandering, snapped her attention back to Ai, "what can I say that a thousand poets have not already said?" Ai shrugged, "it has been done; I am in love." A curse to all courtesans; love had found another victim. Silent seconds trickled past until Miko asked an unexpected question:

"You slept with him?" Even Ai smirked a little.

"Yes." Her eyes seemed to light up as she answered and it was clear, from the look in Miko's eye, from the way she tilted her head at Ai, that she wanted to know a little more. "What else is there to say?" Ai asked, a flush of colour entering her cheeks.

"Just what every girl in Sunagakure is dying to know," Miko giggled as her friend tried to hide a smile.

"When Gaara would look at me, with eyes that showed he could not resist temptation any longer, I would feel myself begin to melt." Ai smirked in remembrance; "I would fall to my knees in a second if he asked me to." Miko looked impressed.

"So the speculation is true." Miko confirmed with a knowing smile; "the Kazekage was a skilled lover?" Ai shrugged.

"I only have the prince to compare him to," she added quickly, "but there was something in the way he would kiss me, that made me feel as though I were being sacrificed and worshipped all in the same moment."

"Really?"

"What is that line at the end of the legend?" Ai asked herself. "Love throws aside barriers, to mar the lines between opposites and see them be born out of each other." The girl regained that far-off look; "sex and violence, love and hatred, pain and pleasure…servant and Goddess. They are all so inextricably linked. He made them that way. Tied me up and brought me into his darkness, made me fall in love with him and then, vanished." Ai bowed her head, her shoulders slumped. Miko put a hand on her shoulder and offered the end of her veil to Ai, to wipe the girl's tears.

"He was a good man." Miko said to her.

"Like no other." Ai confirmed as she wiped her face with Miko's veil. Miko looked her old friend up and down; Ai was so young, so naive. She had no idea that there was so much more than her own worries in the world. How selfish. It would not matter if Ai were sacrificed for the betterment of the village.

"Only someone like Gaara could have made our village great again." Miko spoke cold and clearly into the room.

"The village?" Ai said, throwing aside Miko's veil and going to lie down again. "What can be done now? It has been four days. When news breaks of Gaara's death everything he has worked hard for will fall out of place." There was a moments silence. Ai looked up through the domed glass ceiling to see the sky turning dark.

"Not so." Ai glanced up to Miko as the girl spoke.

"What do you mean?" As Ai asked, Miko glanced around the room and pulled Ai to sit up and lean in close, as though to listen to a great secret.

"Prince Nobutara was not even a third of the way through his journey when news reached him about the Kazekage's capture." Miko whispered urgently. "The prince turned back and is arriving at the palace this evening. As Sunagakure falls under his rule, he shall aid with appointment of a new Kazekage and see over the village." Ai, who could not understand why Miko was behaving as though this were important or even critical news, lay back down with a quick shrug.

"The prince is a good man." Ai responded but Miko pulled her back up again, causing Ai to frown in annoyance.

"That is why you should go to him." Miko urged her. Ai pulled her hand out of Miko's grasp.

"What?" The blue eyed dancer asked impatiently.

"The village is looking to you, Megumi-sama said so herself." Miko spoke quickly but she could already see Ai's mind beginning to race. "Seek an audience with the prince, inform him of everything you discussed with Gaara, to help the village." Ai shook her head to signal that she could not do such a thing.

"I have other things to tend to," Ai said feebly, not wanting to give too much away to Miko. If the green eyed girl had any inkling that Kai, who raised them both, was Ai's real father, who knew what chaos would unfurl. But Miko, who was acting on her own interests, took Ai by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.

"What would The Kazekage want you to do? Miko saw the girl's eyes begin to dance as she seriously considered what Miko was proposing. Could Ai do anything to set things right? Plans Gaara discussed with her, were any of them pressing matters? A light flashed across her eyes and Ai looked up.

"I must speak to the prince."

Poison sinks into blood with unrelenting pain; it writhes itself around your body like a snake caught in a net; daring to break the thread, to tear through the material and unleash its anger on whoever imprisoned it. The pain, some say, can make you beg for death. But if you overcome it, if you manage to live through such horrible agony, the knowledge that your life was so easily threatened, does not go away. The hours before your body returns to normal, before your blood flows fearless through your veins, you feel somewhat like the shell of the person you once were. Poison lives with you.

_At least_, Kankuro mused, t_hat must be the reason for this feeling, right? _

Temari had not spoken to him since he had left the sick bay. She was too busy helping run the village in this time of chaos. If he ever happened upon her in the palace when she was free, drinking tea or sitting in the library, she would look away from him or leave the room. It had been this way for two days now. Of course, Temari did not blame Kankuro for what happened to Gaara, she would never even let such a thought cross her mind, but it seemed Kankuro reminded her of the brother she had lost. That constant reminder was too much to bear and so, as Kankuro tried to find shelter in the company of friends, he found that he was more alone than ever.

It had been four days since Ai had run from the palace temple. In other words, it had been four days since Gaara's death. Ai never told anyone, she had not spoken a word to even Kankuro or Temari. But the siblings knew, from that cold, lonely look on Ai's face as she was escorted out of the Kazekage's room, from the way her veil fell heavy upon the floor and dragged behind her as she walked. From that glance she gave them before her lips trembled and she had to look away, they knew that their brother was no longer in this world. Where was Ai now? Tamara had not seen nor spoken to her and Kankuro, whose movement was still slow following his healing, had not found the energy to seek Ai's company.

This evening, however, he decided to eat his dinner quickly and go in search of Love. Talking to her might offer him some solace at this time. He could not explain her relationship with Gaara, who could? Whoever understood that boy? Perhaps she did. Perhaps she could offer some comfort.

Kankuro abandoned his dinner half way, finding his appetite was still not returning to normal, and left his quarters. Still walking with a slight limp, he made his way to where the courtesans stayed during their time in the palace. Of course, members of the palace were not usually permitted to go there, courtesans came to their customers, but Kankuro was not much in the mood to stick to the rules this evening.

The sun was sinking below the horizon and Kankuro walked past servants lighting up the lamps that lit the corridors. The palace was soon glowing with golden light as the night became darker. Upon approaching the courtesans doorway, he stopped and wondered if he was doing the right thing. His thoughts were, luckily, interrupted.

"Kankuro-san, you honour us with your visit." He turned at the sound of a sultry voice to see a girl with chestnut brown hair bowing to him. As she straightened up, her emerald eyes caught him off guard. "Perhaps I can be the one you are looking for?" She asked with a small smile.

"Miko," Kankuro said and watched her smile fade as she heard the weight of grief in his voice. "I am looking for Ai." Miko lowered her gaze and looked fearful of speaking. "Miko-"

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to speak with me?" Miko asked with a bright smile. But there was something behind her smile, Kankuro noticed as he raised an eyebrow at her, something false and fearful.

"Miko, where is Ai?" He asked. With a quick change of face, Miko looked terribly upset.

"She is distraught, beside herself with sadness, she wishes to see no one-"

"Where is Ai?" Kankuro demanded. The way this girl was changing her emotions and her story, it was clear she was lying, covering something up. Miko bit her lip, with a worried frown she beckoned him closer to whisper.

"She is meeting with the Prince." Miko looked ashamedly down at the floor. Kankuro took in a sharp breath, disbelieving of what he was hearing.

"What did you say?" He asked slowly.

"She is young and foolish, please do not be upset with her-"

"Answer me as plainly as I have asked." The shinobi commanded.

"She heard of the prince's return and left immediately for the guest quarters in the palace."

"Why?" Miko blushed and adopted a defeated look as recited the age old fate every courtesan detests.

"Why does any courtesan meet a man of power in private?" Kankuro shook his head as she spoke; it couldn't be. "Not all beautiful faces are innocent ones; Ai is, like all of us, a working girl. Our loyalties are with our Houses and our Houses do not run on love." Miko's eyes filled with tears as Kankuro's breathing began to get faster, he shook his head and clutched at his heart as though it were fit to break. "I am sorry. The Kazekage was a good man." Kankuro could not look at her any longer; it was sickening, devastating. No, he had to see for himself. "I am sorry!" Miko called after Kankuro as he took flight to the guest quarters.

"Ai."

"Your highness." Holding onto an oil lamp, the beautiful dancer bowed to the kind prince. Dressed in the colour of a rose, Ai glittered before him like starlight.

They met in secret in the gardens that were devoted to guests at the palace. With plenty of trees to obscure any view of them, and a fountain to drown out their words. The two appraised each other from a short distance. Ai placed the lamp on the edge of a white stone fountain, before turning to the prince and adjusting her veil. She was so good at being delicate, the prince noticed, from the way she let a few curls of hair stroke her face in the night breeze, to the way she let her gaze linger on the ground before looking up to him.

"Ai." The prince said again and Ai looked up in surprise for the first time Nobutara had spoken, he had sounded formal and princely, this time however, he sounded consoling. Ai's elegant pose left her for a moment as she saw him standing with open arms as though the welcome her home. She walked up to him swiftly and fell into his embrace.

Prince Nobutara who, after days of travelling, was worn out and exhausted, wrapped his arms around the girl and rested his chin on her head. "Everything will be fine," he whispered, "I am here now." Ai clutched onto his robes and slowly became aware of the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. So calm and welcoming, he made her feel so at peace.

"You know of the Kazekage's fate?" Ai asked quietly.

"There has been no news." Ai sighed; so she and Gaara's siblings were the only ones who knew the truth. "But I am here to assist Sunagakure." Ai moved out of his embrace and he held her at arms length.

"We are glad for it." Her eyes were glittering in the moonlight, her lips glistening, almost, beneath the stars. So delicate and afraid, she looked up at him as though he were her saviour. Wasn't he? The Prince had travelled so far and for such a long time, and yet upon arriving he set aside everything, just to meet with this girl. Did that not mean something? The Prince wondered as he looked down to her and placed a hand on her cheek. Gently, as though tempting a butterfly to land on his fingertip, the Prince brought her back into embrace.

That look in his eye, Ai noticed, that warm, inviting, beckoning look, was so familiar. The glow of his skin reminded her so much of the boy she loved. Would it be so terrible, to feel that way again, if even for a moment? The Prince drew her closer. _Gaara_, Ai thought as she was brought into the Prince's broad embrace, _where are you? _In some crazy way, Ai believed for just a second, that she could feel Gaara again in this moment. In this human moment of affection, there was something so similar to him. She closed her eyes and let the prince kiss her.

"Ai!" The Prince exclaimed as she immediately pushed him away. "Do not be frightened, it's me." He moved forward again to hold her but Ai pushed him away, looking shocked. Ai could not explain how she let herself, for even a second, be enchanted by him. It was madness- a foolish trick of the moonlight on his face! It was grief trying to hold on to whatever piece of Gaara it could find. Ai put her fingertips to her lips and wipes them softly. The prince frowned, "explain yourself." Ai gasped a little and looked around as though someone else could help her explain.

"I am sorry," Ai said in between gasps, a tear falling from her eyes. "I do not know what came over me," she said quietly, as though all breath had escaped her body. He pretty face screwed up in confusion as though she really could not understand herself.

"Do not deny me, Ai." With a single sentence, her eye's widened in shock as the world was thrown back into perspective for her. The prince did not have genuine affection for her; he was used to dealing with courtesans. Her wishing to see him at this hour was not a friend wishing to see a friend, he saw it as a transaction. The prince, accustomed to these relationships, may have genuinely like some part of Ai, but it did not mean he saw her for more than a courtesan.

What was she doing here? How had she been so naive? Ai gathered herself and closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember what it was like to actually work as a courtesan. She had very rarely behaved in a 'professional' manner. Stannic to her full heigh, wiping away a tear, her shoulders slumped as though defeated. "Deny you what, your highness?" She asked gently.

"Yourself." Ai let out a small, disbelieving laugh at her circumstances as the prince spoke before turned away from him.

"I'm afraid," she replied as her eyes met with the flame of the oil lamp, "I am not mine to give." The orange flame was flame dancing in the wind, calling to her as though in a hurry to speak with the girl. With a small smile, Ai picked up the lamp once more and turned back to him, her face shining in gold light.

"Oh?" He asked coldly. Ai looked into the lamp.

"I belong to the Kazekage." She answered. "You must ask him for me."

"Who knows when the Kazekage will return." As he spoke, Ai turned away slowly and proceeded to leave the gardens, realising now that there was no hope here.

"Then who knows when I shall be free to be yours."

"_You_ called upon _me_, Ai," he reminded her, stopping Ai in her tracks. "I do not have to heed the call of a courtesan."

"A courtesan," Ai's voice carried in the wind, back to the prince. "Is a woman who is sold, correct?" The prince shrugged impatiently; what had happened to the flirtatious, carefree girl he once knew?

"I suppose."

"And I have told you, I am not for sale. So I must no longer be a courtesan." The prince looked on at Ai, completely thunderous, completely disbelieving that a woman of her kind could refuse him. "I came to discuss the future of the village with you. If you are unable to agree to my request then I shall take my leave." The prince said nothing. "Goodnight, Prince." As the girl left the gardens, the prince scowled; _vanity. _

Ai shook her head as she entered the palace once more; she was angry and disappointed in herself. What a fool she had been, to think of the prince as anything other than a customer. And how reckless, how shameful to let her grief get the better of her-

"Kankuro-san!" Ai exclaimed as the two nearly bumped into one another. "How are y…" Ai thought for a moment before raising an eyebrow; "what are you doing in this part of the palace?" She asked gently. Kankuro, whose plain face was still grey with illness, frowned upon seeing her. He seemed to be clammy and shivering, shaking; perhaps the poison was still nestled in his bones.

"I was walking to the library." Kankuro responded, not looking at her. Ai was perplexed; why would he not meet her gaze? In fact, he seemed to be blinking away tears. She had been wanting to speak to him for days but her sorrow had been too overbearing to see one of Gaara's siblings. Even just a quick embrace from Kankuro would make some of the hurt go away but he was acting so bizarre. Even now, as Ai looked him up and down, his shaking seemed to stop, he stared blankly at the lamp in her hands. "You're still holding on to that thing?" He asked in a deep, monotone voice. Ai took a moment before she realised what he was asking.

"Yes. Of cour…" But Kankuro seemed to snigger almost, at the lamp. "Kankuro, what?"

"I will see you shortly." The puppet master interrupted her before walking swiftly past her. Ai took a step back as he almost walked into her. She was left staring after him, wondering what had just happened between them.

**Everyone is just waiting for Gaara. Myself included.**

**Reviews appreciated. Tell me how excited you are for the reunion lemon hahahaha…BECAUSE I AM.**


	21. Gaara's Return

**So we are all cool with the Kazekage living in a palace, yes? Good.**

**Also, anything in ****_italics _****is Valentine's way of indicating that they are speaking in the 'old dialect'. I though the idea of 'old Japanese' would be quite cool and add another level of old-age romanticism, but now I'm not so sure…thoughts?**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**_Chapter 21_**

**_Gaara's Return _**

As when you plunge, head first, into ice-cold water and emerge, gasping for air, fighting for life, our handsome prince found himself near-drowning, on the brink of consciousness. Slowly, steadily, he began to breathe easy. There was something weightless, something free about his current being that he could not understand; as though what had been tying him to the ground had suddenly set him free. All his emotions came tumbling in at once with relentless ambition; each one vying to be felt the most. Anger, happiness, sadness, grief, relief….all crept up and leapt on him with such ferocity that it was enough to send anyone to tears.

But Gaara did not let the heat of emotion get to him, for he could hear something calming, something like a cool breeze upon his brow, slowing down his thoughts, giving him peace. He heard her singing, welcoming him home.

_"__I am your undoubting follower; teach me, Gaara, how it is to love you." _

"Ai?" The Kazekage opened his eyes and glanced around to find himself stood on the balcony of his bedroom. Feeling came rushing back into his fingertips and suddenly he could feel the hard stone of the balcony beneath his feet, the gentle breeze of the desert on his neck and the warmth of hearing birdsong. He felt strong, alive, ready to not let go of her.

"Gaara?" He heard an innocent and hopeful voice call out to him. Stepping between the white drapes that lead to his room, the Kazekage entered and came upon a sight that brought back that storm of emotions. There, sat upright and looking straight at him, was that doe-eyed beauty he had left on Earth. "Where have you been, Gaara?" Ai asked sweetly, standing from the bed. "I have been so alone." Gaara walked up to her swiftly and embraced her. She rested against his chest, a round teardrop fell from the tip of her nose.

"I am here now, Ai." The girl watched as a tear fell onto her hand that clutched onto the red fabric of Gaara's shirt. She looked up at him.

"For how long?"

"Forever."

Ai woke with a start as the bells of the temple in the village square began to chime with a low and thick-sounding _GONG_. She put a hand to her face and wiped her eyes quickly before remembering the conversation she had just had. She looked urgently around her, parted the drapes that surrounded her bed and looked around her room. Nothing. She leant against one of the posts of her bed and sighed. Had he been a dream?

Birdsong drifted in through her open window and Ai looked out onto daybreak. With a quick glance at the clock in her room she sighed before standing, to ready herself for prayers.

* * *

Gaara was never a very talkative child. Nor was he keen to express himself as he grew older; he remained in constant, unnerving silence. It was enough to drive anyone mad; _how are you? What are you thinking? _All questions that went unanswered for he was never willing to give a response. So what did Temari know of her younger brother? At the end of it all, what had he been to her? He was no longer a monster, that was clear. He no longer frightened her, in fact, he took orders from her! He listened to her and learnt to understand that her seniority to him meant something; it meant she knew better than him at times.

But what did she know of Gaara?

For the first time in her life, Temari was doubting herself. She was fearful of something that was not her brother. It was not even that she was wrong or lying, she was not scared of being to blame. But what she was terrified of, was remaining in the unknown.

Was Gaara really dead? She had seen it in the girl's eyes; Ai had slinked out of Gaara's room as though all the life had been forced out of her. The dancer had to be practically dragged from the balcony when they had found her. Temari and Kankuro stood with baited breath as they watched the delicate girl and waited. They knew Ai could tell them of Gaara's fate. How could they explain this belief? How could anyone. It just _was_.

And so, when Ai turned to them with that cold, blank stare, both were struck in the same manner as when a crisp cold air bites at your lungs. For a moment you cannot quite fathom that something so delicate cold hurt you, and eventually, you become numb to it. You become accustomed to the icy breeze.

As Temari sat in the living room that belonged to the Kazekage's family, curled up on the sofa, holding onto an empty clay mug, she wiped away a straying tear. Gaara was gone. She had seen it for herself in the broken glass of a photograph she had placed on her bedside table. She thought of Ai; that girl knew as little of the world as her brother did. Gaara was naive and alien to most things, including people. It shocked all in the household when Temari and Kankuro had found the two of them together. Well, seeing Gaara with a girl, that was not shocking; Temari had seen the way village girls would throw themselves at the tactless and unaware Kazekage. No, what had shocked her most was the way he would look at Ai; he was so full of love for that girl. And what had Temari done other than torn the two apart? What use was it now to think about it? Ai had not been seen for day-

"Temari-sama?" As though her thoughts were a premonition, the blond shinobi looked to the door of the living room to see Ai stood in a pale blue dress. A light pink veil with a gold trim on her head, looking as though she had stepped out of heaven and back onto the earth. The dancer had her long dark hair over one shoulder and was holding on to the cream coloured lamp that had become symbolic of her attachment to Gaara. Upon seeing Ai's face, Temari wiped another tear away quickly and gestured to the fireplace in the room.

The living room was a less ornate room than most in the palace; as part of the Kazekage's family quarters, it was only visited by the three siblings and occasionally their peers. Now, the room held vigil for its lost prince; candles lined every inch of the far wall. Along the mantlepiece, small tea lights and lanterns, much like Ai's, were lined up in respect for Gaara's absence. Hundreds of lights, from villagers, from the Kazekage's council, from overseas friends, were overseeing a little shrine for Gaara's safe return. All that could be heard was the light crackle of the fire and the chiming of jewellery as Ai placed her lantern amidst all the others.

Ai turned back to the room and looked at Temari whose face was red and swollen with grief. Slowly, as Ai tilted her head at the girl in sympathy, Temari began to gasp and nod her head and beckon Ai over hurriedly. The dancer obliged and knelt in front of the shinobi to embrace her. Blond strands of hair obscured Ai's view as Gaara's sister wept.

"Thank you." Temari whispered eventually. Ai, confused by this, raised an eyebrow at Temari as she moved away. "For being here," Temari explained, "Gaara was right. You are calming as the moon." Ai smiled softly.

"I would not-"

_Forever._

The girl jumped to her feet, her arms went limp at her sides as she stared towards the door as though she had seen a ghost.

"Ai?" Temari asked, wiping her eyes. "What is it?" But Ai was already shaking her head in disbelief. The small chain of diamonds in her hair was threatening to fall out of place as her veil fell from her head. "Are you okay?" Ai was walking silently towards the doors which had closed behind her when she entered the room.

"What's wrong, Temari?" From another door way, leading to his bedroom, Kankuro entered upon hearing Temari talking to someone. As he looked around, he found an odd sight. His sister was sitting on the sofa, staring at Ai who walked slowly towards the doors of the living room, her heavy veil dragging on the floor, looking as though she had seen the impossible. This could only mean one thing. Kankuro's face became solemn. "Ai. Can you hear him?" But the dancer seemed undisturbed by Kankuro's question.

Ai reached the heavy, wooden doors of the living room and shook her head. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. She placed both her hands softly on the large gold door handles and, with little strength, pushed the doors open. A frightful and wicked wind flew into the room.

In less than a second, Temari stood before her, the deadly kunoichi held her fan unfurled as she twirled it against the deadly breeze that had entered and shattered the lanterns behind them. Kankuro, kunai in hand, stood beside them, waiting for someone to enter.

After a few moments, Ai, who had ducked and held her hands above her head, lowered them slowly as the thing they were all waiting for, did not happen.

"What was that?" Temari asked slowly as her eyes adjusted to the change in light; the wind had tipped over most of the lanterns in the vigil, plunging the room into an eerie glow.

"I have no idea," Kankuro responded, replacing his kunai back into the fabric of his robes. "Ai?" The girl turned suddenly away from the doors to look back at the vigil. With wide eyes, Ai pointed to the direction of the mantlepiece. The two sand siblings followed her gaze, past the tipped over and shattered shards of unlucky lanterns, through the now-dark tea lights that had been blown out by the breeze, and up to the only remaining light in the room. There, amidst the darkness, Ai's lantern remained lit.

"Does it mean…?" Temari asked quietly, not wanting to get her hopes up. She looked down to Ai who remained silent, mystified by what was happening. A heartbeats silence passed.

"Go." Ai whispered suddenly. Temari looked up at Kankuro who seemed to be eyeing the dancer with scrutiny.

"Kankuro," her brother looked over to her, "gather reinforcements, let's move out." After a moments hesitation, Kankuro nodded, kissed Ai on the forehead and ran from the room. Temari did the same, leaving our heroine staring after them.

* * *

A hawk came with the message not long after Temari and Kankuro's departure. The Kazekage was saved from sure death by an elder of the village. Ai's ears began to ring as she listened through a locked door, into the council's meeting. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes began to burn as the whispers in the room began to turn into shouts of relief, of joy! She even heard one or two of the elders let out a gasp that sounded close to a sob.

"He shall return by noon," Ai tilted her head back to rest against the door, she practically slid down to the floor in relief. "Prepare the village for his welcome." The girl with the pink veil took to her feet and ran through the palace as though in some dream; her heart was light and her soul felt free. He was coming. Gaara was coming back to her.

* * *

If it had been hard to catch a glimpse of the moon since the Kazekage's capture, it was certainly not as difficult as this! Megumi had been searching for Ai for over an hour now. She had wandered through the palace gardens and searched through all the temples, but Ai was nowhere to be found.

Preparations for the Kazekage's return had been well underway since mid-morning and Ai was needed for all sorts of preparation. There was to be a funeral at noon when Gaara returned and a festival in the evening to celebrate. Paper lanterns on strings were already being hoisted up and strung between buildings. The colours of bubblegum pink, mint green and lemon yellow, were streaming from house to house. Villagers were jubilant and all of a sudden hungry; trays of food were being passed around with warm smiles and embraces for all. Flowers, all the shades of red and orange that this desert village had to offer, were placed outside of homes, in fountains, in girls' hair. There was music and laughter in the air for the first time in so long.

You could hear folk songs being sung in doorways, the clinking of glasses and chimes of temple bells. Even the sun seemed to shine more and heat up the Earth until the sand shone bronze and bright. Children ran from house to house, spreading the news, urging their grandmothers to make them sweets only brought out for special occasions. There was an air about Sunagakure that filled its inhabitants with courage and happiness.

And, as Megumi spied a pink veil vanish out of sight around a corner, it seemed one of the most important members of Suna was not so keen to join in the festivities.

"Ai!" Megumi announced as she entered the tower in which Ai had hidden herself away. "The temple bells are calling you," she exclaimed as she came to find Ai sitting on a window sill, looking down at the village. "Colours are raining in the streets, the village is set to rejoice, the flutes play out in the square, the girls are all twirling for you-!" Megumi stopped mid-twirl, she smiled affectionately, proudly, at her student and eyes began to burn a little. "Silly girl," Megumi said as Ai wiped her eyes on her veil. "Why are you locked away crying?" Ai released her veil so it hung from her head and licked the floor, it curled around a glass lantern. "Be sure your tears do not douse your lamp." As she spoke, Ai leant down and picked up the lantern. She peered into it as though to see him there.

"I am afraid, Megumi-sama," she said quietly, "no power on Earth could put out this flame." Megumi laughed and clapped her hands as though to ready Ai for work. The young girl looked up, a little startled.

"Your beloved Kazekage is returning." Megumi said, sounding as though she couldn't understand Ai's sombre mood. But she understood it. Any woman who has ever loved will remember the feeling that comes with the end of waiting. "I wish I could be young again," the elder courtesan laughed a little, "to remember this feeling. What is it like, my darling Ai, to be so in love?" Ai looked over at her and smiled a little.

"It is all I am." She said. How unusual, this songbird was usually full of melody and today, the day she should be ready to sing, it seemed she had lost her voice.

"Then why are you hiding yourself away?" Megumi asked. Ai shrugged and looked out of the window.

"I thought I could see better from here."

"You won't go down?" Her teacher urged her.

"Perhaps he will not want to see me." Ai said quietly, finally voicing her fears, "perhaps he will have forgotten me." Megumi rolled her eyes in an over-dramatic fashion.

"Perhaps Rajin himself will materialise and slap you to save my wrist the ache!" As her teacher approached her, Ai tried to hide her forehead but Megumi was too quick for her and rapped on it with her knuckles. "Perhaps your Kazekage is coming but only to glance at the moon," Megumi pushed aside Ai's hair from her face and began to speak in a forgotten tongue. "_He loves you. We all knew it. Even before Gaara did. Now please come down so we can all hear him say it." _Ai smiled and embraced her teacher.

* * *

"Ready?" Megumi asked Ai as she stood before all the women of the Tea House who resided at the palace.

"One moment!" From the back of the gathered crowd of dancers, who all stood in the main courtyard of the palace, a young dancer ran forwards and held up Ai's lantern before the crowd. "In case you lose your way," the crowd giggled around Ai as she blushed and smiled in thanks. Taking the lantern from the girl, who fell back into place, Ai stood before Megumi, at the head of the crowd, and nodded.

"Ready," she said and began to follow her teacher out of the courtyard. The courtesans, all dressed in colours of pinks, greens and yellows to match the paper lanterns in the village, had prepared trays of sweets for the festivities. Each girl carried some treasure in a tray as the procession headed out of the palace. Dressed in a pale green, the colour of Gaara's eyes, a trim of pink and white on her veil, Ai held only her lantern as she lead the girls out into the desert village.

Up went the parasols to shade them from the sun as they entered the village square. Orange coloured umbrellas with a lace trim gave shade to every girl as they met with the other townspeople, who smiled at them with warmth and excitement. Calls of the girls' resemblance to the sweets in their trays, echoed from the back of the slowly expanding crowd. Children ran out of their homes, dragging their elders to joining the festivities. Young girls of the village threw rose petals and confetti into the air as their mother's sang or scolded them for wasting the petals until the Kazekage were home. Shouts of jubilance echoed in the village square as, for the first time in a long time, the courtesans stood side by side with the villagers.

Perhaps it was a new beginning, Megumi thought as she glanced around, finding it odd that she was exchanging smiles with village women her own age. Or perhaps, she thought as she looked down to the unnaturally-quiet Ai, it was her doing. That girl was never one to follow rules and now, she lead them out, side by side with the rest of the village. The elder smiled as her eyes welled up; what a truly spectacular day this was going to be.

Beside her, Ai could not help but feel entirely different. What should she say to Gaara when they meet? Should she even greet him? His council members will surely greet him first…but then why should she greet him at all? They were no more than acquaintances in the public eye…weren't they? She had been so wrapped up in her own feelings that now, at the thought of facing him, she was terrified. She glanced around nervously and could barely smile when people recognised her and waved or called to her with affectionate nicknames. Her stomach was in knots; this was too much. Her grip was tightening on the handle of her lantern, which, in the middle of the day, was pointless. She must look a fool-!

"There they are!" Ai's heart jumped into her throat, she looked through the crowd to see, coming fast upon the horizon, a crowd of shinobi walking steadily towards the village. The ceremonial conch shell was hoisted into the air by a palace official and it's call of celebration echoed throughout the desert.

The courtesans, who were set to greet the Kazekage in the middle of the crowd, were lead by villagers with shouts of encouragement and cheering. Thousands of people gathered at the gates of Sunagakure and Ai's nervousness left her for a moment as she saw grown men wiping their eyes with relief at Gaara's return. She laughed as she saw them and was caught off guard when Miko grabbed her by the wrist and shook her to get Ai's attention.

"He's here, he's here!" Miko shouted and moved forwards with the rest of the girls. She did not notice Ai simply stand still and let the crowd move around her. Ai became swallowed by the surrounding crowd until she felt like an insignificant blur in the background. Ai turned slowly to face the palace and, hoping to remain unnoticed, began to make her way back. What had she been thinking? Was this even real?

Her thoughts of doubt were interrupted as she noticed the crowd fall silent. In fact they began to move away from her, they were making a clear path to the palace for the Kazekage. Ai moved between them and blended into the crowd. She could even see Megumi looking around for her as the procession began to enter through the gate to the village.

Ai kept her gaze downwards, not wanting to draw attention to herself, feeling perfectly hidden among the crowd. She looked up for a moment to glance pink hair walk past. Ai looked through the crowd to see Sakura, the Konoha ninja, walking beside a coffin with a heavy heart.

"Gaara-sama!" A shout of relief came from the crowd as the Kazekage began to follow after the coffin. Ai lowered her gaze again, hoping to go unnoticed. Why had she worn this colour? Amidst the villagers, all dressed in the colours of the desert, reds and earthy tones, she looked like a forgotten gemstone. Perhaps she could just move a little further towards the back?

The Kazekage walked side-by-side with his brother and closest friend; holding onto them for support as his body was still weak from death. The sun was near blinding and the crowd looked like a blur of reds and browns. He could hear cheering, girls calling out, squealing his name in that horrible way he never thought he would miss. But he did miss it; he longed to see his people again, to hoist the flag of his village against a red desert sun and stand together with his comrades. But there was something, he considered, as he saw the back of her darting between colourful banners, blending in with the pastel-coloured confetti, that he longed to see, much more than anything else.

"Naruto," he said softly, with what little energy he had. Upon hearing Gaara speak, Naruto glanced over to him and saw that look of determination in the Kazekage's eyes. Gently, Naruto let go of Gaara and Kankuro, who had already known what his brother was going to say, let Gaara take his first step alone. As he did so, the crowd quietened a little and parted for the Kazekage to walk alone.

The girl he was chasing after was darting between villagers, hiding among the colours, wanting to go unseen. The difficulty Ai was unaware of, was that Gaara could see no one else. She suddenly became aware that the villagers were moving away from her. She looked around to find eyes already on her, watching her with a small smile. What-?

"Ai?" The world stopped. She closed her eyes and took a breath. Was this real? As she opened her eyes she noticed the crowd around her disperse so she could be plainly seen by all. The girl in mint green turned slowly to face him, lowered her head and bowed slowly. Gaara gasped upon seeing her sweet face and laughed softly when she bowed.

"You bow to me?" Gaara asked teasingly. How could this girl think _he_ were the one to be worshipped? He shook his head as she stood and, after a moment, their eyes met. Ai opened her mouth to speak but no words came to her. "How can you possibly bow to me?" Gaara asked, "your name took my last breath." Ai could not speak, she was paralysed by the sight of him. He stood so broad, so strong and achingly handsome, that there were no words to describe what she was feeling. The kazekage put a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head to him. "Do you know why?" He came in close and whispered, watching her eyes glisten over, her cheeks blush. "Because I have memorised you, Ai. You have become poetry. I have memorised you until you are the sound of my heartbeat." The girl smiled a little at him in a way that made all pain obsolete. Gaara took a step away from her to look at her properly, standing there, shy of him, aware that all eyes were on them. "I have often asked myself what was my reason for living." The Kazekage announced to a crowd in which all were near-tearful. "Now I know. It was to live just a few moments in the beauty of your grace." Ai immediately put a hand on Gaara's shoulder to stop him bowing. Many elders shared her reaction and gasped at this unorthodox display; a Kage bowing to a courtesan! Those who knew the pair, Gaara's siblings and Megumi included, actually found it quite funny.

Gaara was still mid-bow when Ai tried to push him to stand straight but to him, her strength was nothing. As a tear fell from Gaara's eyes and darkened the sand between them, the kazekage stood, pushed her hand away from him effortlessly and, holding onto her wrist, brought her in close.

"I love you." He gasped and kissed her forehead, "I am no longer incomplete, Ai, because I called you 'mine' even before I understood what that meant." Gaara took her face in his hands and rested his forehead against Ai's."I have memorised you, so you will remain in every moment with me, i_nori no yōna _(like a prayer)." The crowd was cheering, confetti caught the breeze that twirled around the village. But in this moment there only stood Gaara and his Love.

Ai held out a hand to Naruto who looked shocked at being called to them. He approached with caution and was surprised when the girl simply struck her ring finger against a kunai that was tied to his jacket. She raised her finger up to Gaara's forehead, where her name met his skin.

_"__Death cannot part us, Gaara." _She murmured softly, never letting her eyes leave his. She wiped her finger across the Kanji on his forehead, letting her blood trickle down his skin. "_I am in love with you."_

* * *

**What do you think? Love confession worthy of this fic?**

**Let me know in a review!**


	22. Love

Hey! I was wondering if there are any of the old RTK fans out there? Would be great to hear from you guys if this is shaping up to be better than the original version!

The inspiration for the song in this chapter is:

**_Mohe Rang Do Laal _****from the movie ****_Bajirao Mastaani. _**

Because let's face it, there haven't been enough songs. And no skipping ahead to other songs from that movie. Let's just keep those a surprise.

Also, I have to say it because I feel bad for stealing, even though it is just the first line of the song. The actual song she sings is more like **_Ab tohe jane na doongi_**_, _from the same movie. Whenever I hear it, I see Ai.

Terrible movie though.

Alright, watched/heard the songs? Whoop whoop, let's go.

* * *

**_Chapter 22_**

**_Love_**

Midday passed Gaara by in moments, still tired and aching from death, the funeral of his saviour and first meal went by unnoticed and uneventful. Ai was unable to be with him at the funeral, for her teacher was leading the prayers and required the girl's assistance, and at lunch Gaara had sat with his council to discuss what had happened during his absence.

The young Kazekage, still desperate to relax a little, to talk with Naruto and spend time with Ai, was impatient with those around him. His elder siblings and council members did not let him out of their sight, saying that it was best he remain in their company until he felt strong enough to be on his own. In a way, Gaara was glad for it. As much as he tried to be strong, as much as he put on a brave face, he was exhausted and withered from his experiences. Every time Temari turned away from him, he would look up at her, hoping she would not leave his side. He had even, for the first time in his life, put his hand on top of hers when she stood from the table at lunch to stop her from leaving him.

Kankuro, who had noticed these small changes in Gaara's behaviour, almost teared up when Gaara asked him to stay after lunch and have tea.

"Sure, little brother." Kankuro had said with a small smile, fighting an urge to ruffle Gaara's hair.

Gaara had changed, death had changed him, _she_ had changed him. He was no longer the blood-thirsty, human-hating, scream-inducing thirteen year old shinobi they had once known. He was learning of the value of others, of friendship, of sibling relationships. Gaara was learning to love. And it was heartbreakingly sweet to those who saw him bend down to pick up Temari's papers as they fell from her arms, or push Kankuro's bottle of sake away from him in a protective manner.

Even the Kazekage noticed people treating him differently as he walked through the palace on his own. The smiles they had for him were genuine now, not out of fear or respect, but admiration and affection. It was enough to turn Gaara's cheeks the same colour as his hair. The young girls in the palace would swoon as he glanced at them and "awww" in unison as he looked away in embarrassment. But he only craved the glance of one girl and so he continued on his walk to see her.

A message came by servant at lunch, her cursive penmanship filled up a small piece of parchment like filagree and told him, as was tradition, that he must soothe his aching muscles in holy water. Nothing was unusual in that at all. In fact, it was common practice for the Kazekage after coming home from battle. Maids in the kitchens would be sent out to collect the water from the temples and the six Houses, to fill his bath. He would spend the evening soaking in the water and sunlight of the desert, taking care of his aching body, healing his wounds. Usually, the wife of the Kazekage would see to these arrangements and, following the events of the morning, no one questioned Ai as she took on that role.

It was a strange and beautiful time in Sungakure; Gaara and Ai were spoken of in every household during the daytime. Talks of how pretty and delicate she was, of how strong and handsome the young Kazekage was, drifted through the air in the desert like the smell of jasmine flowers. The world had changed because of them. Their love, bright and bold, filled up the universe until he overcame death, until the courtesans, forced into keeping on the outskirts of society, were valued. The blood-love had returned to Suna and brought with it hope for a new future.

As Gaara continued to walk to the palace baths, he could overhear folk song coming from the gardens as servants and courtesans readied decorations and food for the festival in the evening. He was so pleased to be home; the palace was ablaze with laughter and celebration in a way he had never seen before. But his body was tired from death, aching for warmth and sunlight, desperate for the feel of her, to rest in Love's embrace.

The Kazekage entered the palace baths and was greeted by a swirl of colours as women of the Tea House bowed to him and ran past with broad smiles as they exited the baths to give him privacy. One girl, who he recognised as Ai's friend, Miko, walked towards him and took from his shoulders his Kazekage robe, to reveal his clothes beneath. A long white shirt and baggy white trousers, made of a thin cotton to keep him cool in the heat of the desert. Miko hung his robe and, without a word, only a smirk, she left the baths with the other women.

Unsure of what to do, Gaara walked through cautiously to the room that housed the main bath. Unlike most people, who stare up at the glass domed ceiling in awe, the Kazekage caught sight of the moon sitting on the edge of his bath. With her back to him, Ai was kneeling at a small shrine on the other side of the pool, her head bowed in prayer. Upon hearing him enter, she turned and smiled at the sight of this handsome and strong prince, who was looking over to her with longing.

Ai stood from the shrine, her eyes sparkling with the reflection of the water in the bath. She wore a simple white dress that trailed along the floor and only silver anklets. Gaara could just make out that she was holding on to a small pot made of red clay. It was clay ground from the same stone the statues of the gods are made out of in Sunagakure.

The temple bells chimed in the distance, the soft singing of prayers could be heard throughout the palace as the two lovers looked at one another through the rising steam of the bath. The sun was beginning to set, the orangey-pink light reflected off the antique furnishings in the bath house, giving the room a golden glow. The lamps that lined the wall glittered and shone through the room, making the water in the bat sparkle. The glass dome towered impressively above them as it began to mist over and the first evening stars were obscured from view. The incense and flowers that adorned the shrine let their fragrance float up between the wisps of steam and cling on, as beads of sweat, to Gaara's skin.

The girl lifted her skirt and took the steps down into the bath, her dress becoming heavier as she descended into the water. The ends of her hair entered the water and fell like black clouds around her figure. Her white dress became sheer and clung to her curves, forcing Gaara to swallow hard and keep focussed on the task at hand. With glowing skin, Ai let her big blue eyes move slowly from the clay pot in her hands, up to Gaara. He was caught off-guard by the look of love and longing she had for him but realised that her come-hither stare was calling him into the water with her.

Gently, slowly, for he was still so tired, Gaara removed his shirt. He pulled the white cotton up over his head, lengthening his torso as he gave his shirt a final tug before throwing it onto the floor beside him. His crimson waves of hair became ruffled as the his shirt had glided over his figure and Gaara shook his head gently to move his displaced hair from his eyes. Nothing would block his vision of her. The Kazekage entered the bath, feeling the welcome waves of hot water lapping at his aching muscles.

As he approached her, so cooly, so defiantly, he kept his distance, aware that Ai had to perform a ritual. His upbringing was so isolated from religion, his instincts always closer to sin, that he watched and waited for her instruction. They moved towards one another, eventually the water came just above Ai's elbows, just below Gaara's waist. Ai dipped her fingertips into the clay pot and Gaara peered at it curiously to see, gliding over her fingers, a liquid that swirled, shimmering against the red clay.

"What is it?" Gaara asked quietly. Ai felt the liquid slipping from her finger tips and looked up at him.

"Oil, from the temple in the square." The steam in the room had formed little droplets on Ai's skin and Gaara watched hungrily as one trickled from her collarbone and down, between her breasts, before catching the material of her dress. "Let me anoint your forehead, Kazekage." She nodded at him to bow slightly so she could reach up. Gaara obliged.

"And then?" He asked as she extended her hand to his forehead.

"Then I leave you to bathe." She whispered and swiped her fingertips across Gaara's forehead. Before she had time to blink, Gaara grabbed her hand as she lowered it from him and with his other hand lashed out and struck the clay bowl from her grasp. "Gaara!" Ai shouted and jumped as the bowl smashed against the marble wall behind her. But Gaara paid her no attention, he pulled her in by the wrist.

"No prayer you can ever whisper will save you from me." The Kazekage growled at her. Mere inches from his face, Ai tried to stand her ground, a stance which became increasingly difficult as Gaara placed her hand on his chest. She gestured with a nod back to the shrine.

"Gaara, we have to…" But the Kazekage pulled her in by the waist and hoisted her up to him. He leant in close, feeling her delicate frame in his embrace, his beautiful, dark-rimmed eyes narrowed on her, begging her to give in. But still she kept her head bowed.

"I want you." Gaara whispered. Finally Ai looked up to him. His heart almost melted; there it was, that look! The same one she gave him the first time they had kissed, the look he was so desperate to understand. "Why do you look at me like that?" He asked as the steam spread all around them, shutting out the world, letting it just be the two of them in this moment.

"Because I want you too." Ai closed the distance between them, wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her lips against his. As her hands became lost in his hair, she let her tongue taste him a little. The Kazekage gasped.

"I can't believe I forgot how you feel." He whispered in a moment they took for breath. He was intrigued as Ai narrowed her eyes on him and smiled mischievously. She dropped an arm from around him and pulled her dress off one shoulder.

"Feel me," Ai encouraged and Gaara smiled before lowering himself to her shoulder and gliding his lips across her soft, dewy skin. Ai moved forwards and put her lips against Gaara's neck as he worked his way down to her collarbone, his hand pulling her dress down further and cupping her breast. Gaara grunted in satisfaction as he grasped on to her full, supple flesh. She felt so soft and breakable, it was so intoxicating to Gaara who smiled up at her and removed her dress from her other shoulder. Ai's breasts bounced and dipped into the pool, and with his mouth watering for her, Gaara pulled her into his embrace so her breasts were pushed up against his chest. Her hair licked his torso in the water, reminding him to pull at it gently as he kissed her.

"Ah," Ai let out a delicate gasp as she felt him take a handful of her hair and pull slowly. Gaara's back hit the edge of the pool but went unnoticed by the pair as their motions became more frenzied, as they were suddenly desperate to be as close as possible. Her lips left his and she clung to him, leaning back in pleasure as she let Gaara's hands explore her, before her lips found his again. The room was getting hotter, wetter, it was harder to breath, harder to see anything but each other, to feel anything but the touch of wet fingertips-

"Ai!" Gaara held Ai close as someone called the girl's name from outside the bath house. Ai looked around for a clock that hung on the wall but there was no need; bells chimed in the distance. She turned back to Gaara with an apologetic smile.

"What is it?" He asked as she kissed him softly.

"Time to go."

"No!" Gaara held on to her as she tried to break free of his embrace.

"We have to prepare for the festival." As she said this, Gaara bowed his head and leant against her chest. The world seemed silent and empty again as they broke apart. The Kazekage left the bath house begrudgingly and told Ai to join him before he left the palace for the festival. It was odd, but a part of their love was still a secret, still unknown to the world, so they kissed behind closed doors as they said goodbye.

* * *

Ai found herself stood outside of her comfort zone; amidst council members, shinobi and politicians, she writhed with discomfort. She was stood behind Gaara, behind his siblings, in line with Baki, Gaara's teacher. It was a strange position for her to take, but then again, any position in this entourage was strange when occupied by a courtesan! Someone pushed open the palace gates and the group began to walk out into the light of a setting desert sun.

"Ai?" The dancer looked up as Temari asked for her. The blonde shinobi looked over her shoulder and grabbed onto Ai's hand, dragging her into line with herself and Kankuro. Ai began to blush pink with nerves and excitement. She saw Gaara glance over his shoulder and smile at her. Dressed in a light shade of blue, Ai checked her veil was pinned to her head properly as they descended into the village.

As the collection of palace members entered the main square of Sunagakure, Ai was numb to all the cheers for the Kazekage, all the calls of her name, for she was swept up in the excitement of the village. Looking up, she could see colourful lanterns glittering and bobbing up and down in the cool night air. Her laughter at the sight of children taking more food than they could eat, was swept up on a breeze that swirled around the village of Sand, sending sparks from the lanterns up into the night. There was a magic in the air, everyone could feel its intoxication as villagers and council members sat together and feasted and drank until they patted one another on the back for no reason other than celebration.

"Ai!" For the second time that night a girl called out her name and Ai turned to watch Gaara being help captive in conversation with a diplomat and his daughter. Sakura, who had called out to her, approached from behind Gaara who was giving Ai a weary look.

"Sakura!" Ai exclaimed and bowed her head to the girl in greeting. "Naruto!" As he approached Ai leant forwards and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto, who had not been expecting it, and had been looking around at the village with a small smile, jumped upon feeling her affection.

"Hey!" He shouted before realising who it was and lowering his voice. "Oh…errr…"

"Thank you, Naruto." The pretty girl said with a tilt of her head and a small smile. Naruto seemed paralysed for a second as those blue eyes of hers sparkled at him. Sakura jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ai said thank you, Naruto." The pink haired kunoichi whispered urgently.

"Don't mention it!" He replied happily, throwing a hand behind his neck and rubbing it in embarrassment. A little way away, Gaara, who was nodding along with the diplomat's statements and keeping his arm out of the daughter's reach, gave a small smile as he saw what was unfolding near him. Ai and Naruto were meeting and they had greeted one another as if they knew each other! The Kazekage could see Naruto blushing under Ai's glances as though he were allergic to her attention.

"Kazekage?" Matsuri put a hand on Gaara's shoulder and he looked over to her. Poor thing, she looked so disheartened following Gaara's reunion with Ai. He supposed that, to most people, it came as a bit of a shock; hardly anyone had known of his relationship with the courtesan. "The elders wish to speak with you." Gaara glanced back to Ai who was laughing, with Sakura, as Naruto tried to talk himself out of a hole he had dug. With a small sigh of regret, for Gaara wanted nothing more than to join their conversation, he turned back to Matsuri and nodded. As Gaara moved away, Megumi, the elder of the Tea House, bowed to him. It was a little awkward, given their history, but Megumi was delighted to see the young Kazekage back in the village and this put Gaara at ease. She beamed at him, let him pass, and continued on her walk to Ai.

The dancer spotted her sensei walking towards her and bowed her head to Naruto and Sakura. "I am afraid I must take my leave, Naruto. I have to perform shortly. Perhaps afterwards we can discuss summoning techniques in detail, Sakura?" Ai smiled at them both and moved away to greet her teacher.

"Perform…?" Naruto whispered.

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke his student's name as he approached the pair. "Have you not yet figured it out?" Sakura, who was pretending to know exactly what her teacher was talking about, looked up at him expectantly. Naruto looked like he was counting the clues on his hands until Kakashi put a hand on his head to stop him. "She is a courtesan." Sakura was taken aback.

"You mean…she…?" The pink haired girl looked around to catch a glimpse of Ai, so exquisite and dainty, sat in front of an elderly village woman, helping her to arrange a tray of flowers. How strange that someone who looked so much like an angel could actually be-

"What's a courtesan?" Naruto asked and Kakashi inwardly rolled his eyes before bending down and whispering to the boy. Sakura watched with a small smile as Naruto's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "You mean…she…and Gaara?" Naruto pushed his index fingers together and Sakura grimaced.

"It is a little more complex than that, Naruto!" She hit him gently on the back the head. "It's an art form."

"Which part?" Naruto tilted his head at her. Sakura and Kakashi did not know whether to hang their heads in embarrassment or laugh. "But…she loves him."

"Well that's clear to everyone…" Sakura gestured around to everyone who were discussing the pair.

"No, she said that death couldn't keep them apart…" He muttered and watched Ai pinch the cheek of a toddler in affection.

"When?" Sakura asked.

"When she cut her finger on my kunai. She said _'death cannot part us, Gaara. I am in love with you.'" _The boy stated. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto, she was speaking in _jōdai nihongo _(old Japanese), how did you…?" But as Naruto became intrigued by the smell of ramen from a stand nearby and Sakura was intrigued by glittering crystal flowers being sold by a merchant.

"So the boy does not know the dead language?" A voice said from behind Kakashi. The shinobi turned to see a man with dark hair and a handsome face, approach him with ease. It was not obvious but it looked as though the man had shinobi guarding him on either side. In fact, to Kakashi's trained eye, he could see this man was of noble rank for there were guards dressed in royal garb all over the place.

"No, he does not." Kakashi responded, trying to figure the man out.

"Forgive me," the stranger said with a small smile, "I am Prince Nobutara." So Kakashi was right; he was a royal. Dressed in robes of white a gold, he certainly looked the part.

"Kakashi, of Konoha," the shinobi bowed and a wave of recollection passed over the prince's face.

"Konoha's white fang!" He exclaimed and Kakashi nodded courteously. "I have a great interest in language," the prince said. "How is it the boy could understand Ai?" He inquired and Kakashi looked pensive. There were only a handful of people who could understand the dead language. Kakashi knew one of them personally; Jiraiya, trained in language and literature for a while and knew the dead language well. Apart from that, only creatures from other dimensions could…Kakashi's eyes narrowed on his student in the distance, gorging on ramen.

"The _Kyūbi _(nine tails)!" Kakashi muttered to himself.

"Sorry?" The prince asked but Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm not sure, your highness." As the man spoke, bells chimed through out the village, calling forth an audience to see the performance.

"You should get a good seat," Nobutara said quietly, "she's quite the performer." The prince gestured to his guards who stepped aside so he could move off. Kakashi frowned as he watched him go.

The stage was set; a square of grey marble, lined with a border of cream lamps, stood impressively in the centre of the village. Low seating was set up around the square stage and many began to take their seats. Women in white, some holding instruments, some merely tapping their feet to make their anklets sound, came onto the marble and the Kazekage and his village took their seats around the stage. The night was warm and fragrant with roses and Gaara, who was looking around for his love, turned at the sound of her anklets.

The crowd parted to let Ai walk to the stage, holding on to her lamp, her face was illuminated gold. To Gaara, she looked very much like how she looked when they met before his death. Like an empress, about to teach the world the art of love, she descended into their world like some heavenly creature. As she approached him, she knelt down in front of him and smiled. Gaara was sat, looking more royal than she could ever imagine, in cream coloured clothes with delicate gold embroidery and, Temari passed to him, a deep red shawl that matched his hair. He smiled at her and immediately regretted it as many members in the audience began to "awwwwh" or cheer. Ai placed her lamp beside him, stood, bowed gently and turned to the stage. As she took her first step onto the marble, her jewellery tinkled to signal the start. And so, in a nostalgic way that Gaara had grown to appreciate, the string instruments struck a note, and the performance began.

"Now I shan't let you go." Ai still had her back to the audience. Her voice was so full of love and sincerity that the audience was held captive by her words. She did not even move as her entourage of dancers moved around the stage. Ai elegantly extended her hand to the sky. "The night, like a call to prayer, has come." Ai turned back to Gaara. His shock, that her eyes were full of tears, was short-lived for he shared the same emotion as her. It was difficult to believe where they were now.

"You, like Senso, have returned from war

And I, like Renai, remain your keepsake.

Come to me, my love, I shan't let you go." Ai reached out for him before twirling around the stage and singing to the audience as though to tell them a story.

"By chance, we met one fateful night

and between the stars made our vows.

Now, Love has become an intoxication

and you have become everything.

Come to me, my love, I shan't let you go." Ai stopped mid-twirl and walked back over to Gaara slowly.

"What I was once unable to say,

The world is now whispering.

They tell the story of us, beloved,

and I hear it echo out through the centuries,

binding us to a legend." She knelt down in front of him.

This night of waiting shall be over soon.

The lamps are burning and so I burn with them." Ai held her hand over her lamp that was sat besides Gaara, she held it there, feeling the heat, sharp against her hand. But the pain was nothing when she looked at him.

"Under your gaze, I burn." Her eyes filled with tears again. In fact, many women in the audience wiped their eyes, Temari included. "Now I shan't, no, I shan't let you go." The song ended, the last note was hit as a tear fell from the dancer's eyes. The crowd erupted into cheer and applause as Gaara took Ai's hand from the flame and stood with her. They both smiled around at the crowd as the villagers called for Ai to be placed in the temple beside the other goddesses.

Ai laughed, the laugh of a teenager for the first time in her life, as her teacher began shouting at the villagers, telling them how blasphemous that would be. The villagers all joked with her and surrendered to the elder who told them she would pray that their sense comes back to them. Megumi turned to Ai with a great smile of triumph.

"Ai-!" But Ai had vanished. She was nowhere in sight. Megumi chucked to herself.

"Gaara?" Temari, the Kazekage's older sister, was looking around anxiously for the boy. She caught sight of Ai's teacher laughing to herself.

"My dear," Megumi said and put a hand on Temari's shoulder, "let them be lost in love for a little while." It took a moment for Temari to realise what the woman meant and Megumi left a very red-faced Temari standing on her own by the stage.

* * *

Hidden away in the Kazekage's quarters of the palace, her hand pinned above her head, her nails digging into Gaara's shoulder, Love was held captive by his embrace. Her back hit the mirror of the dressing table in his room as he hoisted her up on to it but she did not even notice for Ai simply pulled him back into her. Feeling his outline beneath his clothing, aching to touch his skin, dying from the want of him. The dancer's soft moans and gentle gasps echoed through out the room and stopped suddenly as she realised Gaara was slowing down.

The Kazekage pushed her away and Ai looked up at him, puzzled. With a small smile, Gaara began to unbutton his shirt. Ai tutted with impatience at his pace and went to rip his shirt from him but Gaara simply pushed her away again. He watched her with a rye smile as her big blue eyes rounded in with lust and love as she bit her soft, petal-like lips at him. She sat, breathing heavily from desire, unable to shake lust from inside of her,desperate for him. And Gaara could not help but torture her.

Ai looked like everything he ever wanted. So pure and delicate, so inviting and delicious; she like hope, friendship and happiness. In fact, looked like love to the boy who had craved it for so long. Oh, how is still craved it! Gaara had chased after love since childhood, begged for it, clung to it, hoped, wished, killed for it. And now, here Love was, saying she was his and only his. Well now, he considered as he opened his shirt and allowed her to place her hands on him, it was his turn. He would make Love beg for _him_. Enslave her, punish her, do all the things she did to him for nineteen years. Torment and enrage her, until all the breath in her body could only say his name. Until she was shivering for him out of want. Gaara loved her. She was everything he ever wanted. And he would show her that.

"Gaara," Ai whispered his name softly as she planted gentle kisses on his chest. Grasping handful of her dark hair, he pulled her up so they were face to face. "Ah!" She gasped and put a hand in her hair to stop him pulling.

"I love you." He whispered softly.

"I love you." She said with a small smile before it was wiped of her face as he pulled harder.

"Remember something for me Ai?" He asked her as he pulled her hair, forcing her to stare up at the ceiling.

"Yes?" She gasped in response.

"When you are clothed you belong to the world," his freehand snaked down her bare neck, to her chest where he began to untie a ribbon pinning the front of her dress together. "When you are naked you are mine." Gently, the ribbon began to unfurl, "I will tear this world into pieces one day."He released her hair as both his hands became occupied with removing her dress for her. Ai brought her head back down to face him, her dark hair failing in front of her eyes. So this was love.

* * *

**I know, I know, I promised the lemon two chapters ago but I feel like this one is long enough. And you know, from the way this chapter ends, that I have to complete the lemon next chapter so look forward to that!**

**I need your honest opinion, Gaara's thoughts on loving Ai…how did we feel about them? A step too crazy or spot on? Review and let me know. **

**Also, it is not a fashion faux pas for boys to wear shawls. Just look at Ranveer Singh in Mohe Rang. Looks, well it is a little sparkly, but all in all…shawls are great. I know, I'm over selling it. **

**REVIEW**


	23. A Missing Diamond

**Chapter 23**

**A Missing Diamond**

With a furrowed brow, resting his hands on the wall opposite him as though to steady himself, Gaara opened his eyes a little and watched in satisfaction as a small crack formed in the wall under his hand. The bricks beneath were straining under the pressure of him leaning against them; like he was trying to hold onto his sanity. He scrapped his nails along the cold wall, trying to catch on to something that was threatening to tear away.

"Ah," the Kazekage shook his head and bit his bottom lip in an attempt to prevent the rough, inexperienced, almost animal noises that escaped him. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her; who knew what he might do? With his torso clenching and twitching in the candlelight, Gaara let a hand slink down the wall, to grasp a handful of Ai's hair as she knelt before him. Almost immediately Gaara lifted his hand again and put it against the wall.

Ai smirked upon seeing this and let him into her mouth a little more. It was so fun to tease Gaara, to bring him to the edge of something dangerous and watch him unravel. The man's instincts were far too strong, too primal and violent, for him to even put his hands on her. To even look at her! The courtesan was not even trying; her hands were placed firmly on his hips, her soft lips gliding over his member as her tongue searched for places that made him shake his head, as though begging her to stop. But she wouldn't. It was far too much fun, too irresistible to feel him tense up inside her warm and wet mouth whenever her tongue slipped underneath the head of his cock.

"Ugh!" Another satisfying and guttural sound issued from the Kazekage who was beginning to rethink his thoughts of Ai. In the raw, human heat of sex, Gaara found he could no longer hold on to thoughts of dominating her; how, when she was so skilled at making him feel this way? If anything he should reward the way she stroked, licked, tasted, worshipped him. Wasn't that what this was? Wasn't Love on her knees for him because she desired no one else but Gaara?

As Ai felt his strong, rigid dick begin to pulse, she moved away from him, giving him one final, long lick. Gaara grunted as she did so and, as Ai wiped her mouth and looked up to him, she saw Gaara was caging her; resting his head against the wall like he was trying to regain his senses. Each twitch, each pulse, was getting him closer to the edge, but he didn't want to go there yet. He pushed her away as his courtesan began to place small, wet kisses around his soft crimson curls. Gaara moved away from the wall and looked down to her. She smirked up at him.

"Ah!" Ai gasped as Gaara grabbed a handful of her hair, pulled her head back slightly and leant down to kiss her. Her mouth seemed more supple and wet now, after she had him in her mouth, or perhaps it was that Gaara's mouth had started watering at the sigh of her, he couldn't tell. As he bent down, his cock brushed the soft skin of her breasts, making her shudder with anticipation. Gaara opened his mouth a little more, just to feel how much she wanted him. Ai's tongue traced the outline of his lips, her hands ran across his chest, pulling him in by the shoulders so he was forced onto his knees. Of course, the Kazekage could have pushed her away easily but he loved to feel her want him. As soon as he was on his knees, however, he puled Ai by her hair, so she lay on the ground.

Her beautiful naked body lay so delicately before him and slowly, Gaara lowered himself to lie next to her. Keeping his hand in her hair, he pushed the side of his body into hers, letting his cock rub against her thigh. Gaara's free hand snaked down her face, over her breasts where he stayed a while, roughly scooping and pulling at her soft flesh until it turned red with heat and pain. As he broke their kiss, Ai opened her blue eyes at him.

"What do you want, Ai?" He whispered to her. Ai smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Just to wipe that flirtatious look off her face, he pulled her hair a little harder, making her wince. "Beg for it." Ai could feel her body shuddering for him, between her legs was wet with anticipation, aching for the feel of his dick. But she wanted something different. She pouted at him, her ruby-red lips calling him back to kiss her.

"Touch me- ah!" Ai put a hand to her mouth as Gaara yanked on her hair once more.

"I said," Gaara whispered as he stroked the side of her face with his nose, "beg."

"Please, Gaara," Love begged him, "touch me." As though she were asking for his mercy, to be put out of her misery, Gaara obliged. With torturously slow strokes, Gaara placed his hands between her legs and ran his fingertips along the outline of her womanhood. With his teeth digging into her neck, his cock brushing her leg as she writhed in agony, the Kazekage plunged two fingers into her sticky and inviting warmth. Ai's hands jumped to his chest, her whole back lifted off the carpet and into his embrace. Her lips found his neck and returned his bites.

Ai pushed her breasts up against him as Gaara brought his fingers out of her, before re-entering her to hear Ai gasp again. The Kazekage looked at her in awe as he placed his thumb on that spot that made her open her eyes and kiss him intensely. As her lips locked onto his, Gaara increased the pace at which his fingers worked, stroking and tapping in perfect rhythm to match the motion her hips were making. Faster, with a little more force, the Kazekage could feel her getting wetter as Ai broke away from him and lay on the floor, opening her legs a little wider, letting him fuck her a little harder with his fingers.

"Gaara!" There it was, Gaara heard it, that gasp of his name that hurt for him, that was begging him to put Ai out of her misery and force the life out of her. Faster, deeper, more intensely, he moved his hands, he watched her shiver. Harder, to hurt her just a little, quicker, to match her shuddering figure until- "Ah!" The girl grabbed a hold of him and let her hips buckle, her thighs clamp around his hand, until she moaned a little louder and lay back down.

But Gaara did not want it to end there; he longed to see her face screw up in pain and pleasure for him. So he kept his hands moving, not letting her stop him. When Ai put up a hand to his face he simply bit her wrist and carried on. Harder and harder, he tortured her until her breathing began to deepen once more. Her soft moans, her delicate whimpers, drove him crazy. Gaara wanted to see that deathless death he caused once more and he knew exactly how to get it. He released her hair and moved down so he could place his lips against her womanhood, to take over the pleasure his thumb was causing.

"Gods…Gaara…" The princely man had to fight the desire to stuff his cock inside of her whenever Ai began to speak in sex. Why is it she spoke like a songbird during the day and like a whore at night? Such a pretty face, such a filthy mouth. Gaara adored it. So he continued to pleasure her until she said all sorts of terrible, sinful, unimaginable things. His tongue darted between her lips, his fingers moved in and out of her but it turned out Gaara need not do much else; Ai grinder her hips and moved herself up to meet his mouth. She squirmed and writhed beneath him, pulling on his hair, panting his name. Gaara could feel her begin to twitch, to pulse around his fingers and he kissed her softly as she orgasmed for the second time.

Her moaning stopped, her breathing returned to normal. The cool night air blew in from the balcony as his blood-lust cooled. He glanced up at her and smiled as she did, before he pushed her legs aside and climbed on top of her. Out of habit, Ai went to turn around as this was the position Gaara seemed to favour. But Gaara put a hand on her shoulder to stop her and pushed her to lie back down. Above her, Gaara smoothed Ai's hair from her face and kissed her tenderly. Ai was taken aback a little; it was unlike Gaara to be so affectionate during sex. A hand went from her head to her throat and Ai almost smiled; he was just taking a break from his usual sadistic affection.

"Tell me if it hurts," Ai nodded, it had been a while since they- "because I like to hear it." Gaara bit her bottom lip, smoothed a hand down her thigh, brought her legs apart violently and entered her. "Ugh…" Gaara shuddered as he pushed up inside of her; his strong and heroic figure tensing and stretching as he rocked slowly in and out, savouring every moment, feeling every inch of himself being caressed by her.

The girl began to moan a little louder as he lifted his hips from her, before pushing back into her. Gaara's grip around her throat remained firm but light, of course he didn't actually want to hurt Ai. He just wanted to own her, to dominate her, to abuse her with his love. He began to thrust a little harder, a little faster, Ai's moans became louder, sounding in rhythm to the pace he fucked her at. Gradually, Gaara could contain himself no longer and he pulled Ai in by her rear, up into himself, forcing his dick as deep inside of her as he could go. He looked down at her with a beautiful, maleficent smirk as his lust began to take over. Until his hips were crashing into her, until Ai was finding it harder to breath with his hand around her throat. She winced at every inch of him as he became harder, as his motions became wilder, until he groaned in ecstasy and felt himself pulse inside of her.

Gaara fell onto the carpet beside his first love and brought her into embrace. Panting, he held Ai in his arms and kissed her forehead. She moved out of his arms and sat up, looking at him with a small smile.

"Again?" She asked and laughed as Gaara nodded and tackled her back to the floor.

* * *

"Ai!" Kankuro welcomed a shocked AI with an embrace as she approached the Kazekage's family at the entrance of the palace.

"Good morning, Kankuro-sama!" Ai said brightly as she smiled and looked around at everyone gathered. She caught Gaara's eye and bowed.

"Kazekage," she said smoothly as he nodded to her.

"Ai." The group was gathered at the entrance of the palace; Gaara's siblings, Baki, elders of the village and…the prince. Ai cast her gaze downwards as she bowed to him. A sudden feeling of embarrassment rose up and settled in her stomach; last time they met she had refused his advances, would he still be amicable towards her?

"Come," Baki said to everyone, "the Konoha shinobi will be departing from the palace gates. Once again, Temari grabbed Ai by the hand and pulled her in line with Gaara's siblings. It was a little awkward; no one had discussed what Ai's position was now. She was no longer a courtesan, that was certain, but she was not a wife, she was not even of enough of a credible caste to be considered a 'partner' to the Kazekage. And yet he had accepted her as his love and so had his family. As the group walked out to the gates, this odd and complex thought muddled around in Ai's head.

"Ai," Temari whispered, "stand beside Gaara." Ai wanted to protest but the blonde shinobi pushed her beside Gaara. It went unnoticed by all but the Prince and Baki; the elders of the group coughed in polite disagreement with Temari's actions. As Ai stepped beside the Kazekage, she smiled as she saw Sakura and Naruto approach the palace gates. In a dress of orange and pink, Ai looked like a desert flower that had caught a breeze and landed next to Gaara.

"You did not have to give us a farewell party, Temari," Kakashi said as they approached.

"Nonsense," Temari responded with a smile, "once again we are indebted to you, Konoha."

"Friends do not hold one another in debt." Everyone turned slowly as Naruto spoke up. He was looking directly at Gaara who nodded to him.

"Until we meet again," Gaara said to him.

"Goodbye, Naruto." Ai said gently and watched with amusement as Naruto's face began to turn red. This was met with several sniggers from the gathered crowd.

And with that, the ninja from the Leaf Village waved a cheery goodbye and walked the long walk out into the desert, to find their way back home. Ai lowered her hand and stopped waving as they steadily became tiny dots on the horizon.

"Let's have lunch." Kankuro proposed to Baki who began to shout orders at servants to prepare lunch. Temari took Ai's hand again and dragged her through to the Kazekage's living quarters.

As the group re-entered the palace, there were a few who looked on as though scoffing. The prince remained in this group, watching Ai as she smiled back at Gaara, her dark hair shimmering beneath a chiffon orange veil. She had so casually disregarded him? She, a courtesan who he had treated like something more than a whore? He couldn't stand the thought of it. Something had to be done. The crowd began to disperse, leaving the prince on his lonesome.

"You are not the only one, your highness." He turned as a voice, smooth as silk, came from behind him. A courtesan, dressed in an emerald green to match her eyes, bowed to him.

"What is that supposed to mean, girl?" He snarled at her but Miko did not seem to falter under his cruel gaze.

"There are those of us who see the union of a Kage and a whore as sacrilege." The prince scoffed as she spoke, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes. As they appraised one another, a thought shimmered in his eyes.

"I take it you are in alliance with the elders?" He asked her. The girl simply blinked in a way that told him he was right. "Then I trust you will see to it that this," from his robes he pulled out a small silk package, "finds a use after I leave?" Miko took the packet and nodded to him. She stared after him a little while longer as he turned on his heel and left._ What elegance, what power, what masculinity!_ She thought as she eyed him up. Such a shame that she had been raised for thieves and gamblers, while Ai had been raised for men like him, only to waste her time and fall in love.

As Miko turned back to the palace, she opened up the packet and looked inside. Between cream-coloured parchment, there was a small, crisp note. What was more interesting, however, was what Miko recognised to be an armlet with a single diamond housed in the centre.

* * *

**I forgive you for the lack of reviews for the last chapter. Because I know you're going to make it up to me by showering me in lots of nice reviews for this one :)**


	24. Trouble on the Temple Steps

**Trouble on the Temple Steps**

Sex, when filled with love, becomes something rare and precious to mortals. Eyes filled with nothing but affection, gentle gasps of delight and the soft brushing of fingertips against bare skin, can make even the most cynical of humans bear witness to something magical. Like flowers in the sunshine, any woman can unfurl when a man looks at you, but only Ai was lucky enough to suffer from Gaara's love. For he, who never knew how to touch something as gentle as a moonbeam, could not help but let his love chain her to him and bind her to his every whim.

Gaara was hopelessly in love with Ai; like the tide to the moon, he was pulled towards her by forces unknown and unexplainable. He loved to watch her delicate figure cease up and her hair unfurl as her head trashed in ecstasy. More than that, beyond anything physical or human, Ai and Gaara found themselves amidst the heat and frenzy of the blood-love. He longed to cool his heated brow against her cold beauty and she loved to feel every inch of her body burn in lust for him. They sat up for hours every night, in each tower's embrace, vowing never to let one another go. On these nights, both left the Earth and found themselves somewhere near paradise.

The young Kazekage had lost himself in Love, until he was no longer himself. He could not recall her name, nor his, for all they were was Love.

* * *

Two months had passed since Gaara's return and the village had seen many changes. The place still jubilant, still ecstatic and uplifted; gifts were still being sent to the palace every day to bless the Kazekage, his family and his Love. Villagers would request meetings with the Kazekage to hear his advice on all sorts of curious topics. They all seemed to forget that Gaara was only nineteen! He was no better equipped to answer their inquires than another teenager in the village. He was a shinobi, not a farmer or a jeweller or a carpenter or an architect, and yet…they valued his opinion. They all knew he was right, the moment he had said it; Gaara brought the beginning of fortuitous days.

The village's opinion of Gaara was not the only thing that had changed since his return. His students, his female students, all looked on at him as he walked past them, with sorrowful, heartbroken glances. Temari and Kankuro, who often only spoke to Gaara when it was necessary, were now wandering into his office at all hours to discuss meaningless and frivolous things. Gaara was learning things about them he had never even thought to ask about before. Only the other day, Kankuro had barged into his office and announced that Gaara should learn _tehonbiki_, a gamblers game; if Gaara were to ever meet with a few feudal lords, he should know how to cheat. Needless to say Gaara threw his brother out of his office before the playing cards had even hit his desk. Temari also sauntered in occasionally, and had once even asked if she could visit Konoha for a while. When Gaara asked why, Temari became angry and told him that he should understand by now. But Gaara had no idea what she was talking about. It was an odd, confusing and chaotic time for the young Kazekage and finding peace in his own village was becoming difficult.

Now, the Kazekage sat at his desk, reading through papers, grateful for a moment of silence. As he signed off another proposed mission for a group of chounin, he put down his pen and reached over for a clay cup of jasmine tea. It was warm and fragrant and gave him a second to breathe. He glanced up at the clock. It was almost four in the afternoon, the working day would be over in three more hours and he could call Ai down from whatever balcony she was perched on. At the thought of her, he smiled.

The past two months had passed as though from some sort of dream. Gaara had to remind himself that this was his life now, that he had finally gained the respect and trust of his village, all thanks to that glittering moonbeam he had chanced upon in the Spring. Ai tumbled into his life and brought with her an end to his solitude, an end to his grief. She had opened up new worlds to him, ones he did not think it were possible to find on earthly planes.

Sex, which had once been completely alien to him, now clustered together with his instincts for violence and love for her in some strange, twisted, romantic way and resulted in nights of Gaara completely losing himself to lust. Ai was, of course, trained in the art of love making but her gentle nature and delicate figure were merely a catalyst to the Kazekage's appetite for her. Without Shukaku,Ai and Gaara assumed that it would be safer for them but they were wrong. Gaara had been so used to keeping his guard up when he was a jinchuriki that, without Shukaku, he had no gauge on his emotions. It was like feeling everything all over again, for the first time. Without the pressure to restrain himself, Gaara had caused Ai pain without meaning to. It was not as though he were completely to blame though. Ai pushed him, teased him, tested him, showed him things he could never have imagined of and made him beg her to do it again. Sex with Ai was a twisted, beautiful, violent and loving affair. One which Gaara, a cynical and apathetic man, would call as close to the divine as he dared.

The divine, Gaara pondered over this thought for a moment. He had heard whispers in the corridors, from courtesans and palace members, that the blood-love had returned to earth. He had heard about it, of course he had, great poems and legends were written around the relationship of Renai and her lover, Senso. Was it true? Was this that legendary, divine love? How could it be when he had been denied love for so long? How did it make any sense to suddenly be at the centre of an ancient love story?

"Gaara?" The Kazekage looked up as his elder sister entered the room. "Do you have the reports?"

"Yes, here you are, Temari." Gaara stood and picked up a sheaf of papers from his desk. He walked over and handed them to his elder sister. She smiled at him.

"At the temple." Gaara raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "The answer to your question." She responded to his quizzical look and laughed as he smiled bashfully. "Go and see her, it will be a while until you see one another again." Temari left with a faint smile as Gaara nodded his agreement.

The walk to the temple in the centre of the village was quiet that afternoon; most villagers were at work and the children must have been in school. In fact, Gaara did not see anyone on his walk and he was grateful for it- he was never one to welcome attention with such open arms. As he approached the temple in the square, the bells began to chime from the towers above, as he ascended the steps that lead to the entrance. At the sound of the bells, white doves fluttered out of the temple with haste, escorting a figure, dressed in silver, who was walking out into the sunshine.

"Kazekage," a girl nodded to him with a barely-concealed smirk, as she left the temple, leaving Gaara to stare at the back of her in surprise. Ai forever loved to irk him. He lowered his gaze and shook his head with feigned annoyance. The pair stood back to back as he spoke.

"Have you so easily forgotten me?" Gaara asked, making the girl stop in her tracks. Ai smirked to herself and spoke clearly like a birdsong into the morning:

"The sea does not remember the shore with which she so fleetingly visits." As she spoke, Gaara smiled before turning to her.

"I am not the shore." He humoured her before kneeling down at the top of the temple steps and gently clasping hold of the end of her silvery veil that trailed so freely behind her.

"Then?" Ai turned to him suddenly and tried to stop a look of surprise crossing her face as she came upon the sight of him kneeling; what was he going to to? She appraised him, lifting an eyebrow, pouting at him as though daring him to answer her. "You are broad and strong; a cliff, perhaps?" Gaara pulled her veil taught, causing the colour to rise in Ai's cheeks; she knew what he was planning.

"You have named me before, Ai." Gaara whispered dangerously. And it was that flash of malevolence in his eye that Ai recognised. She gave a small smile.

"The tempest." She whispered, barely noticing Gaara begin to pull her veil towards himself.

"Which cuts through the sea-" He pulled her veil a little harder, forcing her onto her knees before the temple steps.

"Ah!"

"Controls it, tortures it, makes it write for mercy." As he spoke, her eyes filled with remorse, begging him not to continue. But Gaara, being Gaara, wanted her. He did not stop, he continued to pull her veil so her head was brought down to the step in front of him. Ai practically lay on the temple steps before him.

"We are on the steps of a temple, you blasphemous fool." She whispered, their eyes locked.

"And you are desperate," Gaara murmured, moving closer to her, "helpless, to the need to sin with me." Ai could not stand it any longer; his stare, his lips, his touch, she needed it now.

"Take me to the palace." She breathed.

"Later." Gaara dropped her veil and stood suddenly. "I must speak with a monk here." And with that, he left, leaving an open-mouthed Ai staring after him.

* * *

Gaara was hunched over his desk, reading through a long and very boring mission report. He had stood in an attempt to make his boredom lift a little. It did no such thing.

"Yes?" Gaara spoke as the door to his office opened. He stole a quick glance at the clock beside the door; there was only a half hour of the working day left. Then he and Ai could…but his thoughts stopped at once as that silvery nymph walked into his office. "Ai?" He stood gently and spoke her name softly, wondering why she would come to him early.

The girl, who had kept her eyes cast down, let her gaze gentle trail along the floor, up to him. The way she flicked her eyelashes up in the last moment, a soft smirk on her face, the gentle jingle of her jewellery, was enough to tell Gaara what she wanted. Before he had time to react, she lowered herself to her knees. Gaara stood straight, looking intrigued.

"Now?" He asked, trying to hide his excitement. Ai nodded, her eyes softening into a come-hither stare. "Here?" He asked a little more urgently. Again, Ai said nothing, simply nodded. He came to stand in front of her, curious to see if she was being sincere or if this was punishment for abandoning her at the temple. "I have papers to sign." He reminded her as though he would not heed her call, but something still pulled him to his knees in front of her.

"Sign them later," she whispered, kissing his neck.

"I have council members to meet." Gaara protested, although somehow his Kazekage robe fell from his shoulders as Ai's lips found his.

"Meet them later," Ai advised, taking a deep kiss while he was distracted with pulling her veil from her head.

"I have students to teach." He pleaded with her as Ai removed her blouse and lay down, pulling Gaara on top of her.

"Teach them later." Ai giggled as he kissed her, opening her legs to welcome him into embrace. Instinctively, her hand travelled from his neck, along his shoulder and arm, to grasp his hand. What she found there, however, surprised her. She pulled away from him and looked to his hand. Gaara smiled guilty as Ai saw the pen in his hand, attempting to sign the last report of the day that had somehow ended up on the floor beside them. Ai stared at him indignantly before grabbing the pen.

"Ai, no!" But it was too late; keeping eye contact with Gaara, Ai drew a thick, black line straight down the middle of the report. She threw the pen across the room and looked at him as tough daring him to speak. "Such is your vanity that you will not come second to my work?" The dancer said nothing, simply stared at him, wondering what he was going to do. "Why do you do this, Ai?" He whispered to her, looking down at her lips, his mouth watering. "Now I have no choice." His hand followed the curve of her waist, along her breasts and up to her neck. There, he held her with a little pressure. "Why do you insist on me causing you a little pain?" He asked her but Ai had begun to smile, she helped him to lift up her skirt so he could make love to her.

The girl could not explain it, neither could Gaara. What was it about a little pain, a little control, a little madness that made this so much better? Sometimes, Ai let him use her entirely, and she did not seek her own pleasure. It was enough for her, to satisfy him. Perhaps it was her courtesan upbringing that made her so keen to please, or perhaps it was the odd combination of being his slave and his goddess at the same time. She didn't know. But he never let her stop to think too much about it.

That evening passed like this; with Ai clinging to him, moaning underneath him as he fucked her with such frenzied lust that neither had time to remove their clothes. It was the strangest mix of beautiful and painful Ai had ever experienced. In his last moments before climax, Ai was surprised when Gaara looked down to her and kissed her with tenderness.

"I love you," he whispered to her before his body began to shake and tremble with pleasure. As Gaara peeled himself away from her, Ai fell into his embrace on the floor.

"Are you ready to leave tonight?" She asked softly.

"Yes," Gaara replied, slightly breathlessly. "I will miss you." He smiled a little; he couldn't remember ever missing anyone.

"Do not forget me." She looked up at him and the Kazekage kissed her softly.

"Never," he assured her.

* * *

Endo Yori had lived through the reign of three Kazekage's; the third was his nephew who met his demise to Sasori of the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki. That damned group of outlaws, of fallen ninja, shameful, disobedient characters who putrified the earth with the stink of their sins. The fourth Kazekage, Raza, had been a great shinobi of his time; pragmatic and loyal, he turned sour under the influence of Orochimaru. Yori had even been there, the day the youngest child of the third Kazekage was born.

He remembered Raza exiting the hospital room where his wife lay, preparing to give birth, his hands shaking, his lips turning a blueish hue; something was wrong. Yori could remember putting a hand on Raza's shoulder as he sat beside him, and whispering something secret to him. Something that gave the Kazekage an idea. All knew too well that the village of Sand was under threat of extinction; the weapons and shinobi they produced were not up to the same standards as other villages. So what if, from an ancient iron tea kettle, could come forth a great asset to the village? Raza could not deny that it was a shining opportunity for Sunagakure, a glimmering beacon of hope that he could hold up to his people and announce that the world should fear the village of Sand once more.

Yori had been an older shinobi, the day of Gaara's birth. He had looked on in hope and triumph as the child wept in the arms of his slowly dying mother. But that was the last time Gaara gave Suna a reason to believe in him. He was born into the world out of the death of his own mother. And after that a trail of death, destruction and devastation was left behind that malevolent boy who smirked and stirred with anticipation as he itched to kill again. Some of the softer, more gentle elders of the village could not see through those opal eyes that charmed them with warmth and skill and clarity. But Yori could see it, just as he saw it the moment Karura's hands fell limp around the child. Gaara was the epitome of evil.

And now, Yori's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists at the thought of it, he was Kazekage! And to add salt to an expanding wound, the treacherous boy had taken a whore for a partner! It disgusted him, repulsed him, to see his village become this. And they all spoke about her so fondly! Villagers, elders, shinobi and alike, all spoke of the two star-crossed lovers, claiming they were the first on earth to witness the blood-love. Yori took a sip of bitter, cold tea as he winced in disgust. Blood-love! That wretched, unsightly, unholy, unworthy whore had cursed them all with some enchantment! Just as Gaara had done! And many had sat back and let this happen! Well now, it had gone too far. The Kazekage and his courtesan were in the public eye, the reputation of the village would be in tatters by the Winter. Not under Endo Yori's watchful gaze. He would be sure to put things right.

Two months had passed since Gaara's return and much had changed, and was still changing, in the village. Many were jubilant, the palace was often in chaos of celebration and even the younger shinobi had gained a new lease of life. Everyone saw the shallow and superficial improvements of the village to be to the credit of the hopeless Kazekage. That girl, Ai, had remained in the palace as a guest- scrounging on the kindness of the higher ups! That was Yori's ancestors' hard work and riches she so frivolously took for granted. She was asked to leave the Tea House and renounce her title as a courtesan but she was yet to do so. It was shameful, what the village of Sand had become; in awe of a young whore!

Sitting in an underground meeting room, Yori now took another sip of his tea, swirling the bitter and sour contents of his cup in his mouth, swishing it around his teeth with eager hastiness; he wanted the meeting to start quickly. Around a large round table, sat many of the elders of the village, and even younger shinobi, all ready to partake in the destruction of the Kazekage. Yori's thin and fragile arms emerged out of the sleeves of his robe as he clasped his hands together in front of him and rested his chin against his finger tips, his long white beard falling onto the table. Those gathered around the table fell quiet as Yori took this position every time he was about to speak.

"Friends," Yori began, his voice rattling out of his throat as though he had never spoken before, "the time is near."

"We have waited months!" A younger shinobi spoke out of turn and was immediately silenced by another village elder:

"Hold your tongue! This is not a simple matter of assassination!" An elder called across the table.

"Indeed," Yori continued, nodding his head in agreement, "our previous attempts to remove the Kazekage from his position have been easily thwarted. This," Yori held up a single finger, "this requires time and thought. We must not grow impatient!" The old man shouted and brought his fist down on the table suddenly, making those around him jump. "We all know what is to happen?" There was a general murmur of agreement around the table. "Good, now be gone." As members of the rebellion against Gaara stood from the table, Yori turned to the shinobi next to him. "I notice were are missing a few of our friends. See to it that they are never seen again." With that, and on shaking legs, Yori stood slowly to leave.

* * *

Ai was smiling down at a village mother who was handing her a basket of fruit in the main hall of the temple in the square. It was just after dusk; there was a little sunlight to see the village and the lamps were being lit in the street. Inside the temple, beneath candlelight, Ai took the basket with a warm smile; it was beautifully tied together with blue and green ribbon, affectionately chosen as the colour of Ai and Gaara's eyes.

"I trust the Kazekage and his siblings left in good time?" The mother asked sweetly.

"They did." Ai responded as she looked into the basket full of sweet, juicy mangos and plums.

"And they shall return…?"

"In a few days, not to worry." Ai assured her. Many of the villagers did not want Gaara to leave them again since his abduction. But Ai stood faithfully by the statement that he was stronger and wiser with their support.

"Goodnight, my dear." The woman said, wrapping a shawl around herself as she exited the temple.

"Goodnight. Thank you again!" Ai called to her before placing the basket by the other offerings to the gods. the priest would bless them in the morning. With a quick doe of her head to the deities in the hall, Ai picked up her skirt and left the temple. She came across the sight of the village at night; with the bustle of villagers walking from shops to restaurants to their homes, the air was thick and warm with the smell of honeysuckle. Ai smiled around at the scene and proceeded to descend the temple steps.

"Ai?" At the sound of her name, on the last step, Ai turned slightly to see Baki, Gaara's teacher and advisor, stood with a group of shinobi. The look on his face was solemn, it wiped the smile from Ai's lips.

"Yes?" Ai said softly, aware that the men around Baki had begun to shuffle towards her with an unspoken aggression.

"You are under arrest for high treason by attempted assassination of the Kazekage."

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